The Long Journey Home
by Angel362
Summary: It's been several years since the events that took place in the show. The ducks are all older and are still stuck on Earth living their lives. But one day, somehow, they will find their way back to Puckworld. (rating may go up)
1. Chapter 1

**Hi All. So, I have been working on this particular story for two years now. It has suffered from more than one re-write and does result in a cross over with another of my fave cartoons. Anywho, I am happy with the first part of this story now and am going to start uploading it. Once that section is uploaded there may be a little break before I upload the next part, I may even end up splitting it into more than one story, but I'm not sure yet. Plus I want to be sure I am happy with it before I upload it.**

 **This is set several years after the show, just so you know. And I have taken some liberties with ages as they were never really given in the show, merely implied. So please no comments about any ages, I am aware they might not be accurate for the show, but I have taken the liberties to help the story fit. Anywho, I hope you enjoy my story. Please leave a review if you do enjoy it.**

 **Angel 3**

 **Chapter 1:**

The lights and colours were blinding. He didn't know how long he had been spinning within the vortex he had found himself in. The last thing he remembered was the sound of his best friend calling his name. That was it. It was a blinding light and a deafening silence ever since. Canard had to admit he was getting incredibly bored of the nothingness. When he was sure he was going mad and all hope had left him, he saw something different. He didn't know how to move in the nothingness and wanted nothing more than to check out the oddity before him. But he didn't know how. He squinted to try and get a better look at whatever it was. Part of him told him it was stupid to merely squint. That it wouldn't help him see this thing before him any better. But he squinted anyway. He wasn't sure how to describe it. Whereas his surroundings had, up until recently, been the blinding lights, this was almost dark. But Canard wasn't sure if that was just the contrast preventing him from seeing any details. It took a couple of moments before the tan mallard realised that the darkness was heading towards him. He almost panicked, but he was so desperate to get out of the nothingness he didn't even try to avoid whatever was heading towards him. As his body passed through the darkness he was suddenly falling, and everything was strange. Canard cried out in shock, but he didn't fall for long before he landed on the hard ground and he was surrounded by darkness once again.

"Any change Tanya?" Wildwing asked as he entered the infirmary. When Drake One had alerted them to the teleportation energy, they had expected Draganus. When they had arrived, and found an unconscious Canard he had instantly scanned the prone form to make sure it wasn't the Chameleon again. He had laughed aloud in disbelief when the mask had confirmed it was really his missing friend. Tanya immediately set to work checking Canard for injuries and had declared that he must have fallen when he had teleported from wherever he had been, that he had knocked his head pretty badly. Grin had assisted her in getting him to the aerowing and they were soon back at the pond.

"Not yet." Tanya told him. "But he is stable. My main concern is his mental state when he wakes up." She pushed up her glasses to rub her eyes. "I mean we don't know where he's been. We don't know what's happened to him. He might develop PTSD. He might…" Wildwing placed a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"Then we'll help him as best we can." Wildwing smiled at his friend and teammate.

"What if we can't?" Tanya countered with almost frightened eyes.

"Canard is the strongest person I know." Wildwing assured her.

"You could start by keeping your voices down." Canard grumbled from the bed. The duck's arm came up and he rubbed his head before trying to sit up.

"Don't you dare!" Tanya scolded before pushing him back down. "You are injured, and you need to rest!"

"Where am I?" Canard ignored the woman fussing over him.

"Welcome to Earth buddy." Wildwing grinned.

"How long have I..?" Canard asked noticing that Wildwing looked a little older than he remembered.

"Five years." Wildwing replied sadly.

"Five years?! It feels like yesterday!" Canard said as he finally relented and lay back down which earned him an approving nod from Tanya. "Draganus?"

"Still loose." Wildwing admitted.

"But he hasn't taken over this planet either." Tanya clarified whilst she glared at Wildwing over her glasses. Wildwing knew there would be another talk with her soon about his confidence and self-esteem. Tanya meant well but he really wished the woman didn't treat him as some kind of patient when he had one of his anxious moments. He knew Tanya respected him and he had accepted that he was their leader, but it still made him feel about three inches tall when she slipped into doctor mode.

"Well that's something I guess." Canard rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to knead the kinks out.

"Do you remember anything?" Tanya asked Canard.

"About what?" Canard made a face then realised what she was asking him about, "Oh, um… not really. Just bright lights and nothing."

"Interesting." Tanya rubbed her chin, "I wanna run some tests. It's possible you were in some kind of space outside of reality. You may not have even aged and…." She stopped at the looks both Wildwing and Canard were giving her. "But that can wait till you've rested and are feeling better." She added quickly with a blush.

Nosedive rested his head on the picnic table he had taken up residence on. He'd felt pretty bad when his brother had lost his best friend. Not least because a part of him was almost glad when Canard had gone missing. Now he was back, and his brother was happy.

"Nosedive!" He jumped at the squeal of the young child he knew would soon be leaping on top of him. Sure, enough a small body landed on his back and small arms were around his neck.

"Hey, Molly." He grinned, glad for the distraction. The little girl, satisfied she had hugged her friend enough moved to sit on the seat beside him. Molly was a six-year-old girl he had met when he and his team had been on a meet and greet at the local school that Molly attended. Molly had been one of the few kids who had been brave enough to talk to them as if they were like any other people. She was small for her age and had blonde wavy hair with bright blue eyes.

"Can I braid your hair again?" She grinned. "I wanna practice and I've already done my mom's" Nosedive chuckled with a nod in the affirmative. Molly climbed onto the table and sat down then waited for Nosedive to shift so his back was to her. She then started to separate his hair but stopped. "Your hair's all tangly again!" She complained.

"Yeah," He replied, "I may have forgotten to comb it this morning."

"You'll get split ends." An older woman's voice scolded from his right. He turned to wave at Jessica Fury, Molly's mother, who walked over to the pair. "Molly, how many times had I told you not to run off like that." When you looked at Jessica it was obvious she was Molly's mother. He hair was a shade or two darker than Molly's and the only real difference was that Jessica's eyes were more green than blue. Jessica was also incredibly tall. Nosedive was sure the woman must be at least six feet tall and had often wondered if she had done something athletic at some point before she became a teacher and a mother.

"But mom, I saw Nosedive and…"

"No buts young lady. Nosedive might have been busy, or someone could have knocked you over or even taken you." Jessica frowned at her daughter.

"I'm sorry Mommy." Moly said with a pout.

"Just try to think before you act a little more," Jessica told her daughter before sitting down beside the pair, "Why don't you go play for a while, I'll lend Nosedive my brush and you can braid his hair in a little bit. I can see Aron and Kimberley over by the swings."

"OK!" Molly replied rushing over to her friends. "Hey guys!" She yelled as she approached the two other children.

"I know I've said this before, but she is way too cute." Nosedive laughed.

"Too bad she knows that." Jess rolled her eyes then looked more closely at the young man beside her, "What's wrong?"

"Huh?"

"You are not your usual hyperactive self." She explained, "Normally you would go play with the kids for a while before talking to a boring old mother like me."

"You're not boring and you're not old." It was Nosedive's turn to roll his eyes, "You're the same age as Wildwing!"

"But I'm a mom and a teacher, so that makes me automatically boring and old." Jessica joked with a wink.

"Whatever." Nosedive wanted to laugh, he knew she was trying to cheer him up. He just wasn't up to putting on his usual act.

"OK, there is definitely something wrong." Jessica frowned. "Fess up kid."

"It's Canard."

"The guy that went missing on your way here?" Jess asked.

"Yeah, well he's back." Nosedive leant over and held his head in his hands.

"And you're worried about how he's going to treat you now he's back?" Jessica asked. Knowing full well that the duck Nosedive was referring to had wanted to leave her young friend behind in a work camp, rather than take him with them.

"Pretty much." Nosedive looked up again but sought out Molly's form and smiled as he watched her whoop for joy as Molly slid down the slide.

"Considering that you are the reason any of your team survived, he'd have to be a real jerk to treat you like a kid now." Jessica tried to assure him.

"Mom?!" Molly called from the park.

"Yes baby?" Jessica replied.

"Did you lend Nosedive your brush yet? I want to show Aron and Kim how I can braid hair!" Molly grinned as she and her friends ran back over to them. Nosedive and Jessica laughed at the sight and Jessica handed him her brush. The blonde duck pulled it through his hair a few times to get rid of the tangles then helped Molly back up behind him on the table again. Her friends sat on the other side, so they could watch their friend work.

"So, have you spoken to your brother about this?" Jessica asked him as her daughter began preparing his hair.

"What for? Canard has always made sure not to be a jerk to me in front of him and I don't want Wildwing to lose his best friend cause of me." Nosedive said with a bitter edge to his voice.

"Well maybe it's time you did." Jessica told him, "He's your brother, he'll want to know if you're upset. Take it from someone who is an older sister."

"Didn't you say you were a twin?" Nosedive asked.

"I am, but I also have a little sister." She told him with a wink, "That and Alex is three minutes younger than me so…" She winked which made Nosedive laugh. Nosedive noticed Jessica focussing on something beyond him but before he could ask, "Looks like you'll be able to talk to him sooner rather than later." She indicated, and he instinctively turned his head.

"Nosedive!" Molly whined, "Stop moving! Now I have to start over!"

"Sorry." Nosedive cringed very conscious that his brother was approaching and didn't know that he'd made friends with the small family and Molly's little friends.

"Um, Nosedive?" Wildwing raised a brow at the scene of a small blonde girl messing with his brother's long hair.

"Hey bro." Nosedive replied not looking at his brother.

"You took off and no one knew where you were." Wildwing said with an edge of concern in his voice. Jessica hid a knowing smile. "And you're not answering your com."

"He's letting me braid his hair." Molly stated.

"I can see that." Wildwing smiled at her kindly. "You're doing a pretty good job too."

"Thanks! My mom taught me. Her name's Jessica and she's the best mom in the world." Molly continued to babble on about how amazing her mother was. Both Wildwing and Nosedive did not fail to spot Jessica's face going a bit red.

"You OK bro?" Wildwing asked his little brother.

"Yeah I'm fine." Nosedive replied, and Jessica rolled her eyes at his response. Something that was not missed by Wildwing at all.

"I don't believe you." Wildwing crossed his arms and glared at his brother with his best 'I'm standing in for dad' look.

"All done!" Molly declared as she finished the braid off with a hairband.

"Well, since you're done we should probably get going Molly." Jessica said, "We'll take Aron and Kimberley back to their parents then make our way home and…"

"You don't have to leave just cause my brother showed up you know." Nosedive said to her, not making eye contact with his human friend.

"You have something you need to talk about with him and you don't need us in the way." Jessica declared, showing where her daughter got her attitude from. "You know where to find us if you need to talk. But right now, that's what your brother is for." She winked and led the kids away ignoring the stare she could feel coming from the older Flashblade as she and the children left.

"Wasn't that kid..?" Wildwing began.

"From the school thing a while back? Yeah." Nosedive shrugged.

"OK, Dive." Wildwing sat down beside his brother, "I want to know what's wrong."

"No. You don't" Nosedive said stubbornly.

"Nosedive." Wildwing said with a warning edge. After his brother pouted and crossed his arms defensively, Wildwing rolled his eyes and sighed. "Is this about Canard?" The older brother frowned when that got a reaction. Nosedive had instantly grown stiff and his face gave away the answer without the younger needing to utter a word. "I know you two have never really got on that well." Nosedive looked away from his brother, "Dive talk to me!"

"And what?!" Nosedive snapped, "tell you I can't stand your best friend? He wanted to leave me behind! He wanted to leave me in that work camp. He didn't even once ask what either of us went through in there! And you know why? Because he's never cared about anyone but himself!" Nosedive's breathing had become erratic and he wanted to hit something really bad at that point.

"And you think I've forgiven him for that?" Wildwing asked pointedly.

"Well haven't you?" Nosedive asked quietly.

"No!" Wildwing replied, "I will never forgive him for expecting me to leave you behind when he found us. But he does care about more than just himself. If he didn't then he wouldn't have sacrificed himself to let us get away from that energy worm."

"I guess." Nosedive admitted.

"Nosedive, I want you to promise me something." Wildwing waited to make sure his little brother was listening to him, "Promise me that you'll come to me if Canard ever gives you a hard time. Okay?" Nosedive didn't respond, "Nosedive?"

"Fine! I promise." He replied almost angrily.

"You're my little brother Dive. Canard may be my best friend, but you come first. You're the only family I have left. I'm not about to let Canard get between us. You got that." Wildwing placed a hand on his brother's shoulder who looked up at him. Nosedive suddenly threw his arms around his big brother's neck.

"I love you bro." Nosedive told his brother.

"Love you too little brother." Wildwing replied squeezing his brother back, "You know what?" Wildwing said to change the subject and take his brother's mind off of the recent events, "I feel like pizza. How about you?"

"Sounds good to me." Nosedive grinned.

Back at the pond Canard was beginning to get bored until he spotted a tuft of red hair from the doorway. Mallory stood on the other side of the doorway deciding whether or not she was going to go in and see Canard. The others didn't know that the pair had been an item before they had created the strike force. Didn't know that she had been the one to help him find the mask and take the aerowing for their mission. She'd tried to forget him, but now he was back, and she wasn't sure whether to be fuming or relieved.

"You just going to stand out there?" Mallory jumped and turned to glare at Canard who was out of bed and had an unreadable look on his face.

"Tanya won't much like you being out of bed yet." Mallory told him looking away from him.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her." He shrugged, "Why? You gonna rat me out captain?"

"Of course not!" She snapped. "Lieutenant." She added out of familiarity.

"I missed you." He told her, "I know to me I wasn't in there long, but I thought about you."

"You just jumped." She said quietly. "There was no goodbye. No acknowledgement of what we had. You just had to play hero and jump."

"You think I had a choice?" Canard asked. "If didn't do what I did, we all would have died that day."

"I know that!" Mallory shouted then realised she had exclaimed a little louder than she'd thought, "I know that." She repeated more quietly, "I'm well aware of what needed to be done. I grew up a military brat, remember? That doesn't make it any easier to swallow."

"I'm sorry Mallory." Canard cupped her cheek. "But I couldn't let them win. I couldn't let them kill you or the others."

"Before all this..." Mallory looked at him, so she was sure she could see his reaction, "The things you said…Did you mean them?" Canard smiled and slipped an arm around her waist to pull her closer.

"I meant every word." He held her close as he breathed in her scent.

"You were just gone." Mallory wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. "No one knew about… so I just pretended like…Oh Gods, it hurt so much!" She didn't know when she started crying, and part of her was mortified about the fact. It certainly wasn't something she normally did. In fact, it was something she made a point not to do in front of anyone. Her father had taught her that emotions were a weakness that could be used against her. But her father was no longer alive, and they weren't even on Puckworld anymore. And Canard was back.

"I'm sorry Mallory." Canard's heart broke as Mallory sobbed into his shoulder. He knew it was his fault she was breaking down like this, but he wasn't sure what he could have done differently to save her from the pain he had caused her. "But I'm here now. And I'd like to think, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

"You do, and I will be hunting you down." Mallory told him as she enjoyed the warmth of his body.

Later that night, Wildwing entered the infirmary to check on his best friend to find a certain red head curled up at his side. Both she and Canard were fast asleep. They lay on top of the covers so Wildwing quietly went to the cupboard to grab another one and covered the pair, so they wouldn't get cold overnight. He turned off the lights as he left and continued on to his room with a small smile on his beak.

 **Next chapter will be uploaded soon. This is the 6** **th** **time I have proof read this and I will probably end up proof reading them all again for the umpteenth time, just to be sure. If I have missed anything I'm really sorry! I really hope you enjoyed my first chapter. Toodles. x**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

"Who's that?" Canard asked Wildwing when they were in view of the ice rink. Nosedive was on the ice with a small human child and a blonde woman.

"They're friends of Nosedive's. Molly and Jessica." Wildwing replied, he smiled as he saw Nosedive catch a falling Molly who whined that she would never get good at skating. His brother told her she was crazy and to keep trying. Her mom on the other hand was lazily skating around appearing quite comfortable on the ice pulling off an occasional figure skating move here and there and stuck in her own little world as his little brother helped her daughter.

"Hey Wing!" Nosedive greeted. Canard didn't miss that the younger Flashblade failed to greet him.

"Hi Mr. Wildwing!" Molly waved. Wildwing chuckled and waved back. "Nosedive is teaching me to skate!" She declared to him.

"You enjoying it?" Wildwing asked.

"I'm not very good." The little girl pouted.

"No one is at first." Wildwing assured her with a smile. "You'll get the hang of it." He nodded to Jessica who skated over to them. "Hi Jessica, this is Canard."

"Nice to meet you." She replied although there appeared to be a reserved manner about her.

"Hi." Canard replied, "You can skate?"

"Since I was a kid." She shrugged, "I grew up in a much colder area than this, so I had a pond to learn on. Not as big as this place though." She quipped with a wink.

"I see." He turned to leave without saying goodbye and Wildwing didn't miss the rolling of Nosedive's eyes.

"So, you ready for tomorrow?" Jessica chose to change the subject to get rid of the awkwardness of the situation caused by Canard.

"Tomorrow?" Wildwing looked to his brother to explain.

"Nosedive's going to my mom's school to help make money to build a new…!" Molly looked to her mother for help.

"Our school needs a new gym." Jessica told Wildwing.

"So, what are you doing to raise money," Wildwing asked, "Other than using my brother to bring in fans to spend money." He added with in a teasing tone.

"Hey, that was Principle Brown's idea, not mine. How he found out I knew him is beyond me!" Jessica said looking a little embarrassed, "However he managed it, the moment he knew, that ass wouldn't let it go till I asked Dive if he would mind attending."

"Sounds a bit like Phil." Wildwing cringed, "Speaking of which," he turned to his brother, "you mentioned to Phil you're doing a fund raiser without his say so?"

"No, and I'm not gonna either!" Nosedive knew full well Phil would end up chasing the school for payment for his appearance. The youngest Mighty duck was planning on going free of charge and he was keeping it that way. "Besides, doesn't he have you doing something tomorrow?"

"Don't remind me." Wildwing grumbled.

"Well if whatever Phil has you doing isn't important, then why don't you come along too?" Jessica suggested.

"Would make a change to do something charitable without Phil hovering around making sure we charge for everything." Wildwing pondered.

"Come on!" Nosedive pushed, "You could sneak off before everyone leaves." Nosedive waggled his eyebrows, "The others can handle it and we can get Duke to cover for you!"

"Well you'd certainly be welcome." Jess said, "I know for a fact that the kids would love another mighty duck to be there. They've been buzzing about your brother coming since it was announced last week."

"Well…." Wildwing wasn't sure if he should but it certainly sounded much more interesting than the opening of the new museum building, but as leader he would be shirking his responsibilities.

"Come on Wildwing!" Nosedive encouraged.

"Oh, all right. I'll think about it!" Wildwing told them. Both mother and child jumped when both the boys' comms went off.

"It's a Drake One alert." Wildwing told his brother.

"Awe man!" Nosedive whined, "Who is it this time?"

"According to this there's teleportation energy detected near Palm Springs." Wildwing said pressing the button on his comm to change into his armour and his brother followed suit. "We'd better check it out."

"See you two tomorrow!" Nosedive called as the brothers ran down the hall towards the entrance to their secret headquarters. Jessica and Molly waved after them then mother looked at daughter.

"I guess we'd better take those back and go to the store to buy you your own huh?!" Jessica told her daughter who proceeded to whoop in excitement at the prospect of getting her very own skates. They returned the borrowed skates to the old store cupboard where Nosedive had come across various skates of all different sizes and Jessica took her daughter off to the sports store.

"Down there!" Mallory pointed as they grew close to the area pin pointed by Drake One. Below them were the saurians but also, what looked like, a small group of humans in uniform. The saurians seemed to be searching a train wreckage whilst some drones guarded the humans. "What are they doing?!" She made a face to show her confusion.

"Let's find out, shall we?" Duke asked drawing his sword.

"All right, Nosedive, you and Canard keep the Airowing in the air. The rest of us will go down there and figure out what they're doing. We can figure it out from there." Wildwing told them. Nosedive and Canard looked at each other, clearly not happy with the decision, but nodded. "Let's go!"

The remaining ducks zip lined down to the ground and made the short journey to some rock based cover where they could see what the saurians were up to at the very least.

"Tanya?" Wildwing looked at their team tech for an explanation. They were hiding behind a rock formation and beyond that, the saurians were holding the humans hostage, to the side of a derailed train. The first two carriages were scattered across the desert sands and Wildwing was sure that whoever had been in those particular carriages were likely beyond their help. The final two carriages had stayed on the rails but only just. He figured that was where the hostages had to have come from. The first of the remaining carriages was a large flatbed carriage with something covered in a tarpaulin. The final carriage appeared to be a passenger carriage. All the hostages looked like army personnel of some kind, from the looks of the uniforms they were wearing.

"My omnitool is picking up some pretty strange readings from that thing. Whatever it is, is giving off a pretty big energy signal." Tanya told him.

"So, they're after whatever is under that tarp?" Duke narrowed his eyes.

"But why keep hostages?" Mallory wondered aloud.

"Maybe whatever it is," Wildwing activated the mask to look at whatever was under the tarpaulin, "They need someone who knows how to use it." The mask glowed and an image appeared where the tarp was. "It looks like some kind of engine." Wildwing muttered.

"For the Raptor maybe?" Mallory pondered.

"Either way, we need to stop them and save those humans." Wildwing declared.

"But how are we to secure the hostages and the engine without any further loss of life?" Grin asked.

"We'll split into two teams." Wildwing told them, his mind kicking into overdrive to figure out how to pull what needed to be done off. "Grin and Tanya, you go and free the hostages. As soon as you do, get them to a safe distance and signal the aerowing."

"And the rest of us?" Mallory asked.

"We're going to slip round and get between the saurians and that engine." Wildwing replied then looked back at Grin and Tanya, "Wait for our signal. We need to strike at the same time if we're going to have a chance of getting the hostages out of this without anyone getting hurt." His team nodded and they separated to take up position before Wildwing gave them the go ahead. Once Wildwing was sure everyone was in position he opened his comm. "Everyone ready?" He waited for the affirmative from those behind him and those across from them that were now behind the hostages. "Now!" The ducks leapt out from both sides and began firing on the saurians who were taken by surprise.

"I told you those lousy ducks would interfere!" Siege yelled aiming at Mallory but Duke and Wildwing body checked him before he could fire. Tanya and Grin quickly released the prisoners and indicated that they should run and which way to run. Wraith approached the pair to try and stop the escape of their captives, so Tanya ran after the humans to cover their backs whilst Grin faced off against the elderly sorcerer. Being three against four, the saurians were soon making a hasty retreat and the ducks returned to the aerowing.

"Are you the leader of this group?" An older man in a general's uniform approached Wildwing.

"Yes. Is everyone all right?" Wildwing replied.

"There are several unaccounted for." The man informed the white mallard, "Although I know that we had lost at least 10 before you people came to assist."

"I'm sorry we didn't get here sooner." Wildwing looked back at where they came from, "The saurians were likely after that engine for their ship. If they get hold of it then I'm not sure we would have the firepower to go up against a fully powered raptor." He turned back to the general, "We need to get that thing wherever it is you were trying to get it before they come back and try again. We can contact your superiors about clean up on the way."

"And how exactly are you going to do that?!" The general demanded.

"Our aircraft is capable to carrying it safely to wherever you need it to be and you and your men can ride with us inside." Tanya told them.

"Why are you helping us like this?" One of the other lower ranked soldiers asked.

"Because we've been fighting these saurians for years now." Duke told them.

"And we've seen what they can do to a planet." Mallory added.

"Believe me when I say, none of us want to see another planet go through what ours did." Wildwing finished, "At least not if we can help it."

"That's very noble of you." Another soldier said rather dryly. Wildwing gave the soldier a sideways glance but ignored the tone that came with the comment.

"Thank you." The general turned to his men, "All right men, I want you to assist these people as much as possible." He turned to Wildwing, "If I could communicate with my superiors. They can have an air convoy here in 15 minutes to accompany us and ensure nothing further goes wrong."

"Sure, follow me." Wildwing smiled and led the general into the ship.

"No way man!" Wildwing resisted a groan as he heard his little brother's raised voice. He was clearly arguing with Canard. Not that that was anything new. They had done so since Nosedive was old enough to talk. He just wished the pair would get along when he wasn't around. Of course, neither of them dared get too heated when he was in ear shot. Dive would get an ear full and Canard had received a black eye before for bullying his little brother. "I was right about DuCaine wasn't I?"

"A lucky coincidence." Wing herd his best friend huff.

"Whatever." Nosedive grumbled, making sure he had the last word as Wildwing cleared his throat to make the pair aware of his presence.

"The general here needs to contact his superiors." Wildwing explained. The previously arguing pair rose to their feet, "Why don't you guys go outside and see if Tanya needs any help." They left without word and Wildwing shook his head in annoyance. He then activated the com unit for the general and stood back slightly to allow the man some privacy whilst he called his superiors.

"Headquarters would like us to remain by the engine until they can get an aerial unit can escort us to the base. They would like to take you up on your offer of transporting the cargo though. Seems they agree with you that it would be more of a risk for them to wait for the wreckage to be cleared and a suitable alternative mode of transport be made available. They will send a chopper out for my men and I will accompany you on this craft until we reach the base.

"Sure." Wildwing nodded and received a look from the general.

"You aren't military trained at all, are you?" The general asked.

"I'm not." Wildwing admitted, "But my teammate Mallory is."

"Then if you don't mind my asking," The general gave the tall duck a curious look, "You seem to behave like a military unit to a certain extent. So why are you a party to this if you are not trained." Wildwing sighed and rubbed his head.

"We've explained this to some people pretty high ups in your government," Wildwing told him, "Are you aware of the basic details." When the general didn't answer Wildwing assumed he hadn't, "The aliens that attacked you took over our planet about 8 years ago now. There had been legends and stories about saurians before, but so much time had passed that very few believed them anymore. Until Draganus and his forces arrived on our planet."

"And was he one of the creatures that attacked the shipment today?" The general interrupted.

"No, that was Siege, Wraith and Chameleon." Wildwing told him, "They're like his generals. Anyway, the planet was attacked, and it wasn't long before our entire planet was under their control. My people were enslaved, many lost their lives. After a few of years of being in work camps, our original leader Canard found my brother and I and told me he had found an artefact from our past. An artefact that had helped a hero from the legends defeat the saurians the first time around. He wanted me to be on his team of resistance fighters to go up against Draganus who was held up in his master tower."

"Seems a lot to ask of an untrained individual." The general obviously didn't approve. "You mentioned a brother?"

"Yeah. I made him part of the deal so we wouldn't be separated." Wildwing admitted.

"Could you not have left him in a safe place?" The general asked.

"General, we are the only resistance members. Any others were already dead or captured." Wildwing told him, "The only safe place for him was by my side."

"So where was this Canard planning to leave your brother?" This made Wildwing pause.

"Um..He…"

"I see. And how old was your brother at the time?" The general asked.

"He was 15." Wildwing admitted.

"Well son, with an attitude like yours," the General clapped him on the back, "you'd be welcome on any team of mine!"

"Um, thanks." Wildwing watched the general make his way back outside.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

Wildwing sat on the roof looking up at the stars. He had known his friend would want his place as leader back, but part of him had hoped that Canard would leave the roll to him. Or at least that his friend would wait a while before demanding the mask and his team captaincy back.

"It ain't right kid." Wildwing jumped at Duke's voice.

"Do you have to do that!" Wildwing held his chest and glared at the older duck.

"What?"

"Creep up on us all the time!" Wildwing sighed. And looked down at his hands, "What's, not right?"

"You should keep leadin' us." Duke declared sitting next to his younger friend.

"No, I shouldn't." Wildwing replied, "This has always been Canard's team. He found us all. He found the mask…"

"And he wanted to leave your kid brother behind!" Duke shook his head, "Your brother is the reason we survived that attack on the master tower. We would never have got out of there in time if he hadn't figured out how to fly the aerowing. I mean, what kid manages to figure out how to fly a military class war plane in the span of half an hour!" Duke chuckled. "Your brother is something else and I'm pretty sure that is all down to you."

"Yeah right." Wildwing scoffed.

"Please, that kid looks up to you like you can do no wrong." Duke told the older Flashblade. "And I know you would never let anything happen to that crazy kid. I get the feeling Canard won't take kindly to Nosedive's behaviour in battle or on the ice."

"They never got on before the invasion." Wildwing admitted, "If I hadn't insisted, he would have…"

"Left the kid in the work camp Canard found you in?" Duke asked with a troubled look. "I saved enough kids from those hell holes to know that your kid brother wouldn't have lasted 10 minutes without you to watch his back." Duke grimaced. "How long were you both in that camp anyway?"

"We were caught about two weeks after the invasion started." Wildwing admitted. "We were trying to find our mother when we got captured."

"Did you?" Duke wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

"A few times, we thought we knew where she was." Wildwing told him, "Even when we were slaves we kept asking. Kept trying to find anyone who had seen her or heard about her. Occasionally we'd hear about someone who might have been her but…"

"You never did." Duke finished for the white mallard.

"No. Every time we thought we had found her…" Wildwing closed his eyes finding the memory painful, "It broke Nosedive's heart." Wildwing held back the tears that threatened to fall. Which didn't go unnoticed by Duke.

"Broke yours too by the looks of it." The old thief placed a comforting hand on Wildwing's shoulder. "It sounds like you two loved her a lot."

"Our father always called her the most beautiful duck to have ever graced Puckworld." Wildwing smiled at the memory. "Even when dad died, she kept smiling for us. I know she cried in secret. They loved each other so much there was no way she didn't. But despite that she worked every day to provide for us and she would still make sure to plan trips for us to take on her days off and to cook for us."

"She sounds like she was really something." Duke told Wildwing.

"She was." Wildwing replied, "I miss her."

"I'll bet." Duke smiled.

"I hope she didn't suffer." Wildwing said quietly.

"Oh kid, you don't know she's dead." The old thief squeezed the younger's shoulder, "She could still be on Puckworld looking for the two of ya."

"Even if she is," Wildwing said sadly, "We'll never see her again will we." Wildwing couldn't hold them back any more. Behind his closed eyelids he could see his mother with her kind smile, her shining blonde hair and sparkling eyes. He could still hear her voice as she sung for them. She would always be singing. She sang to her sons when they were scared, when they were happy. She even sang to them the day of their father's funeral. He didn't know when he started sobbing like a child into duke's shoulder, but he was grateful that it was Duke. He knew the older duck would never mention anything about it later.

"It's ok kid." Duke soothed, "Someday we will get home. And I will personally help you find your mom. You have my word."

"Still think I'm the better leader?" Wildwing asked bitterly.

"Take it from someone who knows," Duke held onto the younger male as he continued to sob, "the best leaders are the ones who really inspire people, the ones who care about those who follow them. I know he's your best friend, but he didn't think about your safety when he used you as bait. You weren't trained. You weren't a fighter. But he recruited you anyway. He brought you to the front line and nearly got you killed."

"He knew what he was doing." Wildwing tried to defend his friend.

"Did he?" Duke asked, "When those doors closed he was pretty panicked. He seemed to realise what he'd done. Then we found you in Draganus' death trap and he almost looked sick. I wasn't sure that he thought of you as highly as you of him, but it was only then that I knew that he does return your friendship. So, I guess that's something in his favour."

"Thanks Duke." Wildwing moved away and wiped his eyes.

"Anytime kid." Duke said kindly. "Your little brother ain't the only one who needs looking out for. Hey, isn't Nosedive goin' to that fund raiser for that school that Jess works for tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"You should tag along." Duke advised, "I know you like kids and maybe this Jessica woman can be just as good a friend to you as she is to Nosedive. Certainly, better than hanging around a bunch of crusty old historians at the museum opening."

"I'll think about it." Wildwing said as he headed towards the roof doorway.

"Yo, Jess!" Nosedive yelled as he and his brother got off their bikes. "Where do ya need us?"

"Hold up a sec." The blonde woman replied looking harassed. "Devon if you don't stop messing with that banner I swear you will not leave detention for the rest of the semester." A young teen in a leather jacket spun around and hid something behind his back.

"I swear Miss Fury has eyes in the back of her head." The ducks heard another nearby teen whisper to her friend. The brothers looked at each other and sniggered.

"Abi!" Jess called, and a portly red head trotted up to her teacher, "Could you take this to the principal's office and ask Miss Jessop when Mr Roberts is planning to make an appearance."

"Will do Miss." Abi took the box offered to her and began trotting off again.

"Maybe word it a little differently!" Jess called after her.

"Yes Miss!" Abi called back cheerily.

"Aren't you technically a Ms?" Nosedive asked looking confused.

"Fury is my maiden name." Jessica explained, "My late husband decided to go by my name, he always said my surname was 'way cooler than his'." She made air quotes with her fingers, "And if I'm honest, Ms makes me feel old" She added with a wink.

"Devon!" She snapped, "Get your ass to the principal's office, now!"

"There is no way you saw that!" He protested as he got down childishly throwing spray paint canister to the floor in anger and embarrassment.

"You mean the tag you just put on the back of our brand-new banner?" Jessica pointed out.

"You're not human." He grumbled beneath his breath.

"No teacher is human." She quipped, "We have to be decidedly inhuman to deal with kids like you. Now move your butt!"

"I can probably paint around it Miss." A mousy Asian girl said quietly as if she didn't really want to be noticed.

"Would you Cho?" Jess asked her. "Your art is always gorgeous and if the principle sees that he will not be happy."

"Sure." Cho beamed and rushed off to find some supplies to help out.

"Glad you're not my teacher!" Nosedive laughed.

"You show em' you're scared, and they'll walk all over you." Jess winked. "Besides, they're all good kids. Some of them just need to know they can't do certain things is all."

"So, what is it you wanted us to do?" Wildwing asked glancing over the school grounds.

"It's being run like an open day," She shrugged, "I hadn't really thought past you guys being here." She looked a little embarrassed about the fact.

"So, we gotta do anything in particular?" Wildwing asked wanting to clarify.

"Not really, just walk around and stuff like that." Jessica replied, "I'm so sorry, I haven't really had the time to think of arranging anything. I've just been so busy organising everything else."

"Keep the public entertained then!" Nosedive replied, "We can do that!"

"Thanks guys." She smiled at them before a loud crash could be heard from somewhere behind the banner. "What now?!" She grumbled before marching off in the direction of the commotion. The ducks followed out of curiosity and they found two boys having a scuffle. One was clearly a school athlete, the other looked more like a human who would hang with Nosedive. He had shoulder length dark hair and surfer style clothing on. Cho was stood by the banner looking like she was having a panic attack and several students that had been helping set up were now gathering to cheer on the fighters. "Enough!" Jessica bellowed making even Nosedive jump. The two boys instantly separated, and the other kids went silent. All that could be heard was Cho who was still hyperventilating slightly between small hiccups. Jessica glanced in the timid girl's direction to see paint all over her clothes. "Someone had better explain to me what is going on. Now!" She stood up to her full height and crossed her arms to glare at the boys. Wildwing had to stifle a laugh at how impressively intimidating the woman was. Jessica had to be at least 6 feet tall and it was clear the woman kept in shape. It was also evident she didn't have any patience for fools.

"He started it!" Both boys yelled at once pointing at each other.

"Oh, seriously?! Are you both three?!" Jessica rubbed her temples, "my 6-year-old daughter is more mature than you! Cho, what happened?" The Asian girl squeaked at being addressed but stepped forward to fill her teacher in. It didn't go unnoticed that the athlete was glaring at the girl.

"I was trying to paint the banner like I offered." She started between breaths, "Clive came over and asked me what I was doing. So, I told him..."

"I saw everything!" Corey butted in, "He was calling her a teacher's pet then tried to come onto her!"

"Hah!" Clive responded, "as if I would want anything to do with that!"

"Wh…when I said no, he… he pushed me and threw my paint pot over my shirt." Abi said with tears coming to her eyes, "That was when Corey came to help me, and they started fighting."

"Anyone else see this?" Jessica asked, and a few other students raised their hands, "Is that what happened. Some of them looked at each other as if scared but others nodded defiantly."

"These losers are lying!" Clive declared.

"I doubt it." Jessica raised an eyebrow, "Besides, you seem to have paint on your sleeve." Jessica pointed to the offending area and the boy instantly hid this behind his back. "You will go to the principal's office and wait for me there." He began leaving, "Oh and Emerson," She waited till the teen looked at her, "Don't think your football record will protect you for assault." The boy growled before storming off again towards the main building.

"I don't have a change of clothes." Cho said quietly to Jessica with her head held low. She was still sniffling softly, and her cheeks were very wet.

"Does anyone have anything Cho can borrow?" Jessica asked the crowed.

"I have a change of clothes with me." One girl replied, "I was meant to be wearing them for a date tonight, but I can wear these." The dark-haired girl offered indicating the ensemble she was already wearing.

"Thank you, Chelsey." Jessica smiled. She watched as Chelsey steered Cho away and towards the girls changing room before turning to Corey. "Nurse's office young man."

"Yes Miss." The boy rolled his eyes before walking off.

"You certainly have your hands full." Wildwing said.

"Someone has to do this job." Jessica told him, "And none of them are as bad as I was when I was a kid," she added quietly, "but don't let them know that." Wildwing laughed making a mental note to ask the woman about what she used to get up to, his curiosity was peaked.

"Fury!" An older man stormed over to them. He was a bespeckled man who was almost half a foot shorter than Jessica. He was of African descent and wore a nice suit, however it did not fit particularly well. Almost as if it had been purchased before the man put on more weight.

"Yes, Principle Brown." Jessica rolled her eyes dramatically before turning to her boss.

"Firstly," He snapped, "my office is getting full of students and I would thank you to stop sending kids there for ridiculous reasons!"

"Ridiculous…?!" Jessica asked incredulously.

"Let me finish!" He scowled at her, "I want this event to go seamlessly. If it doesn't then we will be forced to reduce all staff pay to make up for the deficit!"

"You can't…" Jessica tried to interrupt.

"I can, and I will!" He then noticed the ducks. "Ah good. You managed to get some of those aliens to come. Hopefully that will make sure we get a good turn out." By this point Wildwing and Nosedive were sure steam was coming out of Jessica's ears. In fact, Wildwing was sure that the tips of the woman's ears were bright red. The taller mallard was taken aback at the thought that crossed his mind. Was he finding the fact that the woman's ears went red when she was mad, cute? He would store that thought for later as well.

"Yes, principle Brown." Jessica replied though gritted teeth. The man nodded and walked off without so much as a goodbye.

"Well he's a dick." Nosedive said quietly so the students couldn't hear him.

"Trust me, if it weren't for my students, and the fact that finding another teaching job in this city is so hard to come by, I would tell him where to shove his job!" Jessica resisted the urge to make an obscene gesture at the man's back.

"Miss Fury?" A young black girl approached her once the principle was a safe distance away, "Should we get started? People will be arriving soon, right?"

"Oh, the music!" Jessica looked around at the school and sure enough a few curious people were starting to arrive. "Would you mind. Has everyone showed up that were going to perform?"

"Pretty much." The girl replied, "Jamie has chickened out, but I don't mind doing another number or two."

"Oh, Haley you are a star! Thank you!" Jessica beamed at the girl who blushed and trotted off.

"You've got students performing?" Nosedive asked watching the girl leave.

"Well," Jessica bit her lip, not sure whether to tell them, "I may have invited a talent scout I used to go to school with. We've got some really good musicians and Haley there has the voice of an angel."

"You really love these kids don't you." Wildwing asked, again his mind was telling him he found the trait endearing.

"Well, Haley comes from a tough background." She explained, "Her folks work really hard to make sure she has everything she needs to succeed in life and she herself has worked odd jobs for years to help out her folks. She's got the talent to go all the way and, if she can make it as a singer the way I think she can, then she will never have to worry about her next meal or her family ever again."

"She's that good?" Nosedive asked.

"She's that good." Jessica winked, "She's organised it all too, the entertainment side of things, that is. She's a bright girl and so sweet. I just want her to realise she can still be successful in her dream profession."

"Mom!" A young boy screamed from the parking lot, "It's Wildwing and Nosedive!" Before the mother of the young boy could stop him, the little boy had raced over to the pair and was jumping up and down yelling he wanted a picture.

"Do you mind?" The harried mother asked pulling out her phone.

"Not at all." Wildwing smiled and picked the kid up to place him on his shoulder. The boy squealed in delight. He posed with his brother by his side and when the boy's mother had finished he placed the boy back down.

"Thank you." The mother took her son's hand and looked down to him, "What do you say?"

"Thank you!" The boy beamed at his heroes.

"You're welcome kid!" Nosedive waved happily as they began to leave.

"Please consider making a donation towards the school's new gym," Jessica called after them, "There are donations buckets dotted all around the event!" The woman turned and looked back then reached into her purse. She handed a note to her son and pointed to a bucket nearby to them. The child ran towards the bucket that was being held by a student and placed the note inside. "Thank you!" Jessica smiled at the pair as they went to enjoy all the stalls and events they had going on. "Well, I'd better go make sure everyone is ready. Are you guys ok just wondering around talking to fans?"

"I think we can manage that." Wildwing winked at her. Nosedive looked at his brother curiously but said nothing about the unusual behaviour, especial around a woman he barely knew. Jessica smiled at them both then rushed off. At the same time the music began, and Haley's voice began a haunting song that the brothers decided to go over and listen to.

"She is good." Nosedive said when she'd finished and he and his brother had stopped cheering her. The girl had gone beet red when she'd seen two celebrities had enjoyed her music. But soon went onto her next song which was an old school jazz number. The brothers listened to a couple more songs before moving on to look around. By lunch time it was apparent word had spread that they were there. The place was heaving, and they were stopping to pose for pictures and sign autographs every moment.

"Man, I'm starving!" Nosedive complained when they still hadn't managed to get away to grab anything from one of the food stalls.

"You'll live for a bit longer Nosedive." Wildwing chuckled. He jumped as a paper plate was thrust under his beak with a variety of food on it a second one was handed to Nosedive by Jessica.

"You guys have really pulled in the crowds!" She told them with a relieved smile.

"At least your boss will be happy." Nosedive said tucking into the food offered.

"My boss won't be happy till he finds an excuse to get rid of me." Jessica grumbled.

"Why would he do that?" Wildwing asked, "The kids seem to love you and you control the rebels pretty well."

"Because I don't show the rich kids favouritism." Jessica shrugged, "I get a lot of complaints from them, because I don't turn a blind eye to the brats who think they can do what they want because mommy and daddy throw money at the school. Apparently, we've lost donations because of me."

"Man, that totally sucks." Nosedive frowned.

"You're just doing your job!" Wildwing said incredulously.

"Try telling principle Brown that." Jessica sighed. It was at that point there was a large bang coming from the main school building. There was a pregnant pause before the screaming started and people began pushing to get away from the building that now had a sizable piece missing and smoke and flames were visible coming from the building. Jessica began yelling for kids to get to the parking lot and stay there before running towards the building. Wildwing and Nosedive sprinted after her and the older duck grabbed her by the shoulder to spin her around to face her.

"What do you think you are doing?!" He demanded.

"Making sure there were no students nearby or inside!" She said as if it were obvious.

"We will do that!" Wildwing told her changing into his battle gear as his brother did the same, "You are going to go with the other bystanders and stay a safe distance away from what could have been a bomb!"

"But..!" Jessica tried to protest but Wildwing was having none of it.

"You are not trained and have no protective gear," Wildwing pointed out, "We have, now go!" She grumbled and began stomping towards the crowds who were gathered in the parking lot looking towards the burning building. The brothers wasted no time and were soon at the building and the source of the explosion. Wildwing's heart sunk, if anyone had been close by or inside he was pretty sure they wouldn't have survived, especially if they had been anywhere near the blast radius. The pair each pulled out a small breathing apparatus Tanya had designed just for these occasions and they placed them in their beaks before going inside. Wildwing activated his ice shield to protect them and they gingerly made their way around the building. Wildwing had to remind himself that he didn't have the mask anymore to help him look for heat signatures or to see through the rubble, so it took them much longer than it normally would. When they were satisfied that there was definitely no one trapped that they could help, they left the building to find the fire department rushing over to handle the fire.

"Anyone?" Jessica rushed over to them.

"This isn't the parking lot." Wildwing frowned.

"Don't start with me!" Jessica snapped.

"I'm not starting anything! But it's dangerous over here! Which is why I told you to go to the parking lot with the other bystanders!" Wildwing explained as if he were explaining something to an impatient child. The same tone of voice, Nosedive noted, that he used when scolding his brother. Nosedive looked between his brother and Jessica and laughed.

"What's so funny?!" Jessica snapped.

"You guys look like an old married couple!" Nosedive laughed again.

"Ugh," Jessica rolled her eyes then turned back to Wildwing, "You didn't answer my question!"

"We couldn't find anyone, no." Wildwing answered.

"So, either no one was in the area or..." Jessica started.

"Or if they were, they are somewhere beneath the rubble." Nosedive sobered up quickly. "Man, who would set off a bomb at a school?"

"That's what I would like to know!" A familiar voice said before Cleghorn came into view from behind a couple of firefighters. He looked to Jessica, "Are you Jessica Fury?"

"Yes." She replied.

"I understand you organised this event?" Cleghorn asked pulling out his note pad.

"That's right, we needed a new gym, so we put this on to raise money." She told him.

"I see, did you notice anything strange, anyone suspicious?" He asked.

"Not that I remember," She said apologetically, "I'm afraid I've been running around trying to make sure everything was running on time and everyone was ok, to pay much attention to anyone going into the main building. We're using the bathrooms in the old gym for the public, so the main building shouldn't have even been open. Someone was supposed to have locked it before the crowds showed up."

"Do you know who was meant to do that?" Cleghorn asked scribbling in his pad.

"No, Principle Brown would have been the one to ask whoever was last in the building." Jessica shrugged.

"Thank you." Cleghorn closed his pad, "If you remember anything, here's my card. We'll get to the bottom of this." He turned and nodded at Wildwing and Nosedive, "Ducks."

"Hey cappy!" Nosedive waved in response and the human left.

It was several hours before everyone was cleared to leave by the authorities. By which time everyone was exhausted, and both the ducks and Jessica were ravenous.

"I was going to order pizza for dinner if you guys are interested." Jessica offered, "Molly is staying with Alex and Mary tonight now so it's just me and after a day like this I know I'd appreciate the company."

"Sure!" Nosedive answered before Wildwing could even process the offer, "She's got an awesome gaming set up!" Nosedive explained.

"So, while your brother plays on my video games, you can entertain me with embarrassing stories of when he was younger." Jessica said smirking in Nosedive's direction.

"Hey!" Nosedive protested.

"Fine, then we can put on a movie in the back ground whilst we eat?" Jessica asked.

"Ok, fine." Nosedive pouted, and his brother laughed at him.

"Sounds fun," Wildwing added, "I'm starving."

With that agreed the brothers followed Jessica's car home to her house where she let them in and picked up her phone to order the pizza. She picked out Die Hard for them to watch and set the movie going before they settled down to eat.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

Jessica stared at the letter for what seemed like the hundredth time since finding it on her doorstep three days before. She kept trying to convince herself that it was just one of the kids from school trying to prank her, but the poison pen letter was still unsettling. It felt like she was in some bad movie as she stared at the letters that had even been cut out of magazines and newspapers.

" _I'll come for you when you least expect it."_ Was all it said. Her mind was running nineteen to the dozen trying to figure out what it could mean. If it wasn't just some student, were she and her precious daughter in danger? She was wracking her brain to figure out who else it could be. No one from her old life in Chicago lived anywhere near her and they certainly wouldn't want to hurt her. Just to make matters more terrifying, she kept seeing what she was sure was the same white van everywhere she went for weeks, long before the letters began showing up.

"Maybe it's someone Eric knew?" She murmured aloud.

"Mom are you ok?" Molly asked from the couch where she had been sitting watching her shows as they waited for Wildwing to arrive who had offered to take them out for the day. The little girl had turned around and was looking over the back of the couch at her mother with a worried look.

"I'm fine sweetie." She replied but jumped a mile when the door knocked. She rushed to stuff the letter away in the drawer before heading to open it for Wildwing. She wasn't sure why, but she stopped to check her appearance in the mirror beside the door, before she opened it for the hockey player.

"Hey, you guys ready?" Wildwing smiled at them as she let him in. She smiled back wandering if he had a girlfriend back on his planet. _"Where did that come from?"_ she thought.

"Wildwing!" Molly shot across the room and jumped into her new friend's arms. The duck easily picked her up with a grin. "Is Nosedive coming too?"

"Not today princess." Wildwing told her then added when the little girl looked upset, "He promised to help his friends at the comic store before he knew we were going."

"Okay." She replied with a sigh. Wildwing turned to see Jessica looking out of her door as if watching someone drive by. What worried him was the look on her face. The blonde woman had gone very pale and looked like she had seen a ghost.

"Jess?" He walked over to her when she didn't respond and placed a hand on her shoulder. When she jumped at the contact he frowned, "Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yeah!" Jessica gave an unconvincing smile, "Everything is fine!" She added a little too loudly.

"So long as you're sure." Wildwing eyed her curiously before looking out the door himself to see if he could see anything out of the ordinary that could have upset her. When he couldn't see anything obvious he turned back to her and found Jessica picking up her purse and a small back pack covered in my little ponies.

"Shall we go." She said as if nothing had happened.

"Sure." Wildwing said leading her to his jeep whilst still holding Molly. He placed Molly on the back seat where Jessica was a little surprised to see there was a booster seat already there. He gently placed Molly in the seat and strapped her in with Jessica watching him do so. She had to admit he was very good with her daughter and Molly adored him almost more than she adored Nosedive. Wildwing had gone out of his way to spend time with the pair. Especially when he learned that Jessica was a widow. He didn't seem to like that the pair spent a lot of time alone. It both flattered Jessica and amused her. Nosedive did the same to a certain extent, but certainly not as often as Wildwing did, now that he knew them. At least not since the disastrous fund raiser at her school. She had to admit, she enjoyed the duck's company. He was caring and had a sense of humour that often had her rolling her eyes, but she still laughed nonetheless.

Before long they were parking up outside a large park with a lake, a picnic area and a child's play area. They took Molly to the play area and Wildwing even accompanied her down one of the slides. Jessica just laughed at the sight, as did the other kids witnessing the hilarity. After a while of both playing with Molly and then watching her play, they went over to a picnic table. Wildwing excused himself for a moment and soon came back with a picnic basket. Wildwing opened it and started setting out various foods.

"Did you make all of this?!" Jessica asked as she looked over the spread.

"Nosedive helped." He shrugged off handedly.

"You really didn't need to." Jessica smiled at him.

"I know." He smiled back, "I wanted to." They stared at each other for moment then Molly pulled at her mother's pants leg.

"Mom, I'm hungry." She said, "Please can I have some?"

"You don't even need to ask Molly." Wildwing smiled. Molly beamed at him and climbed onto the bench and took some food and began tucking in. Jessica took his hand and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you." She said with a smile.

"For what?" He asked blushing furiously but hoping she couldn't see the blush under his feathers.

"For this!" She replied, "I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate how much you've been doing for us is all." She turned away quickly to hide her own blush and sat down to eat herself. They ate for a while, enjoying the silence when Jessica caught sight of a familiar white van. As was always the case, it wasn't close enough to see the number plate but the person inside appeared to be staring straight at her and she choked on her food. Wildwing jumped up and patted Jessica on the back.

"Are you OK mom?" Molly asked her.

"I'm fine." She croaked.

"No, you're not." Wildwing declared, "What's wrong? You've been acting off for the last few days. Please tell me? Maybe I can help." Jessica looked up at Wildwing then back at the van that was now backing up and beginning to leave. She looked back at Wildwing again who only showed concern for her. She took a deep breath.

"That van." She indicated towards the vehicle that was just pulling out of sight, "It's everywhere I go! At the store. The school parking lot. Near Molly's school, driving past my house…"

"Someone's following you?!" Wildwing's eyes shone with panic and worry for his new friend.

"I don't know!" Jessica almost felt like she was about to have a panic attack, something that she had thought she had got under control since leaving Chicago and coming to live near her brother in Anaheim, "I got this letter and…"

"What kind of letter?" Wildwing sat beside her and placed an arm around her shoulders. Jessica leaned into his comforting embrace.

"One of those poison pen letters," Jessica explained with a bitter laugh, as she tried to get her breathing under control, "I thought it was just one of my more challenging students playing a prank but the van and everything else…" She let out a sob, "I'm scared Wildwing." She added quietly enough that only he could hear her. The last thing she wanted was to frighten her precious child when she could just be overreacting.

"Come on." Wildwing said standing up and packing away the picnic.

"Where are we going Mr Wildwing?" Molly asked still nibbling on a muffin.

"We're going to the pond Molly." He replied as he closed the basket and picked it up in one hand. Then held the other out to Jessica.

"Why are we going there?" Molly asked cocking her head to one side in confusion. "I thought we were going to play some more."

"I'm going to get Tanya to give you both a comm unit, so you can call us if you're in danger." Wildwing explained more to Jessica than Molly. Wildwing was concerned that Jessica seemed to be going along with everything so willingly. It wasn't the woman he had come to know in the past few weeks. The fire had gone out and he didn't like it. He was determined to bring back the Jessica Fury he had become so fond of.

"Why are you doing this?" Jessica asked quietly making Wildwing pause and look back at her. He reached out and lifted her head by the chin, so she would look at him.

"Because I don't want you or Molly to get hurt." He explained, "I haven't known either of you very long, but I know that you don't deserve to be put in this position and I don't like seeing you like this." Jessica could only nod and, once she took Molly's hand with her right hand, she allowed him to take her other hand and steer the pair back to his jeep. He made sure they were safely strapped in and he took one more look around to see if he could spot the van again before getting in and starting the vehicle up. It didn't take long for him to get them back to the pond's vehicle entrance and Molly was enjoying herself as she stared at all of the wonders that were within their hanger. Wildwing had made sure to call ahead so Tanya could add the pair to the security system, thereby ensuring that the alarms wouldn't go off the minute Drake One's sensors picked up that it wasn't just him in the car. He pulled the jeep up beside the other personal vehicles and led Jessica and Molly through the halls to Tanya's lab. As they walked in Tanya was bent over something on her desk, but she looked up when the door opened. She smiled kindly and picked up a mug of coffee.

"Figured you might need this." She said handing the mug to Jessica.

"Thanks." Jessica replied taking the offered beverage thankfully.

"I've got one that will fit Jessica," Tanya said to no one in particular, "but our normal comms are way too big for this little cutie." She said ruffling Molly's hair. Molly squealed with laughter and ran behind her mother who chuckled. "I'm going to wor…wor.. um make a comm unit that's small enough for Molly to wear but it might take me a few days around all the other stuff I have to do around here."

"I'm sorry to be such a bother." Jessica said quietly as she stared into her coffee mug.

"Oh, it's no bother at all." Tanya smiled at the woman who was obviously upset. "Why don't you go make yourself comfortable next door for a bit?" Tanya suggested, and she pointed to the couch. Molly's eyes lit up at the huge TV screen, "You guys can watch some TV whilst I see if I can find some security gear I can set up at your house too." Jessica nodded, and the two ducks watched the woman take her child and both made themselves comfortable on the sofa and the TV flickered on. Tanya pulled Wildwing to one side and added quietly, "So does she know who might be following her?"

"I don't think so." Wildwing replied quietly looking back at Jessica who had allowed Molly onto her lap and was cuddling her daughter. "But she's terrified."

"I'm not surprised." Tanya said watching Wildwing's face as he watched the small family, "both Mallory and I have dealt with our fair share of crazy stalkers, but we can take care of ourselves. Jessica's a single mom with no training. Did she say if she'd told her brother about this, or the cops?"

"No, and I don't think she has." Wildwing admitted, "She said she thought it might be a student trying to wind her up."

"Sounds way more sinister than some student messing around." Tanya said in a disapproving tone.

"That's what I thought." Wildwing replied running a hand through his hair.

"You really care about them, don't you?" Tanya asked as she smiled at him.

"What?" Wildwing went beet red, "I don't know…I mean they're all alone and…I mean…"

"Hey, stuttering's my thing!" Tanya mocked with a laugh, "but seriously, it's ok. You've been less down since you've been around her and don't think we haven't n… noticed how much you've been spoiling Molly." She grinned at her former leader.

"But Canard.."

"But Canard nothing," Tanya scoffed, "The rest of us have noticed and we're happy for you. If you want to take it further… well that's up to you. But none of us would blame you."

"I'm not sure…"

"Oh, don't even!" Tanya rolled her eyes, "If she didn't like you she wo… wouldn't be agreeing to spend so much time with you. And I can see lipstick on your cheek." She pointed out with a laugh. The laughter grew when Wildwing frantically wiped at the cheek Jessica had kissed earlier. "You know I was lying right?" Tanya said between laughs, hoping that Jessica couldn't hear her laughter and got the wrong idea. "Has she kissed you?" She asked curiously.

"Well, she…" Tanya didn't realise Wildwing could go that particular shade of red.

"She did, didn't she?!" Tanya said with a squeal. "I knew it! Mallory owes me ten bucks!"

"You bet on me?!" Wildwing asked incredulously.

"We bet on who would end up making the first move. Mallory thought you would have the guts to." Tanya explained, "I bet that it would be Jess."

"Thanks Tanya." Wildwing rolled his eyes at her.

"Oh, don't be so sensitive!" Tanya waved him off. "Now, I c… called the others and Duke and Grin are checking on Jessica's f… fam… brother and his wife. Canard and Mallory are checking out Jessica's nei… neighbour… house to see if they can see this van that keeps showing up. I did suggest that we let the two of them stay here but Canard didn't like that idea so I'm going to put some surv… surv.. security gear together for her home so we can keep an eye on the area and the exterior of the house. I've given Jessica a comm unit with a built-in panic button. I'll let you show her how they work when you drop her off." She stopped when she noticed Wildwing wasn't actually listening and was again staring out the door towards Jessica and her small daughter. She chuckled, "Wildwing?"

"Hmn," Wildwing looked around to her, "Oh, sorry."

"It's ok." Tanya laughed a little.

"Has Nosedive got back yet?" Wildwing asked.

"No, not yet. When I called he was still half way a… across the state," Tanya told him, "He said he'd be back later tonight, but they are on their way."

"Ok." Wildwing absentmindedly walked over to Jessica who still looked pretty tense. He crouched down beside the arm rest of the couch and placed a hand on Jessica's shoulder, "We won't let anything happen to you or Molly. I promise."

"Thank you." She smiled, then laughed at herself, "Listen to me! It's as if I can't say anything else. How do you guys do all this life and death stuff all the time? I'd be a wreck!"

"Most of us didn't really get much of a choice." He admitted, "Tanya was a research scientist before the invasion. I was a college student and Nosedive hadn't even finished high school."

"Well you guys still have to be something special to be able to do what you do." Jessica told him.

"We couldn't find anything around her neighbourhood." Mallory said as she and Canard came through the door and approached them. Canard was wearing the mask, so it was difficult to tell his emotions from his expression, but his body posture suggested he was not happy with what they had been doing.

"That's something at least." Wildwing said as if thinking out loud.

"I don't see why the police can't handle this." Canard glared in Jessica's direction, causing her to blush in embarrassment.

"Canard." Mallory elbowed him, "Not now!"

"Why not!" He asked, "She's not one of us, or anything to do with our team." Canard declared, "I don't see why we should be wasting our time on this." Mallory groaned beside him. The pair hadn't kept it a secret that they had renewed their relationship since Canard had come back. Unlike Canard however, Mallory had softened since coming to earth and she was determined to make sure Canard lightened up and didn't act like such a stick in the mud.

"Because she's Nosedive and Wildwing's friend, that's why." Tanya snapped from the entrance to her lab where she stood glaring at her leader with her arms crossed. Canard glared right back at her.

"Well she's not mine and she and that brat could be use…" He didn't see the punch coming and said sucker punch floored him.

"You don't want to help her fine," Wildwing growled, "But I am not going to stand by and let someone I know get hurt. Is that clear Canard." The duck in question looked up at his best friend in shock. The only other time Wildwing had hit him, was when they were kids and he had gone too far in teasing Nosedive. Molly screamed the moment Wildwing struck his friend and started crying into her mother's arms.

From the couch Jessica stood up and picked up her child who looked terrified.

"I'm sorry," she said timidly, "I shouldn't have mentioned anything. I didn't want to cause any trouble. I'll take Molly and get a cab home." She said before walking towards the nearest door then stopping, "Um, how do I get out." She asked nearly in tears.

"You are not catching a cab!" Wildwing told her as he pulled his keys out of his pocket, "I will give you a lift home. Do you have the comm Tanya gave you?" Jessica nodded, and he led them out towards the hanger with one hand firmly around her shoulders.

"Was that necessary?!" Mallory turned on Canard when they were safely out of ear shot.

"What is wrong with you all?!" Canard asked. "We're here to stop Draganus! Nothing else!"

"We also have to live on this planet," Tanya snapped, "and, unlike you, we've been here for five years! You come back and are here for barely a couple of weeks and you strip Wildwing of his position. And now you're trying to tell us who we can and can't help!" Tanya's voice was raising with every point she raised, her stuttering scarily absent. It was at this point that Duke and Grin entered the room, "And how dare you make that poor woman feel bad about asking for help! She had her child with her. That kid doesn't know what's going on and you scared her!"

"I scared her?! Wildwing's the one that hit me!" Canard yelled.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Duke spoke up and looked at Canard, a small smirk on his beak, "Wildwing actually hit you?"

"He suckered punched me over that human friend of his!" Canard rubbed his sore beak.

"He wouldn't have hit you if you hadn't suggested that we leave Jessica and Molly in danger!" Mallory growled. "You're lucky I didn't drop kick you myself!" The red head stormed off to her room, no longer wanting to be in the same room as Canard at that precise moment in time. Canard watched her go then stormed off in the opposite direction to get some air.

"Uh, Tanya?"

"Yes Duke?" She replied rubbing her temples.

"Tell me our security footage will have this punch on camera?" Duke's smirk grew.

"Yes Duke." She laughed at him, "And when I'm done with what I'm do… doing in the lab, I will join you in watching it."

"That good, huh?" Duke laughed.

"Let's just say it was very en.. enter… funny." Tanya chuckled.

Wildwing pulled up in Jessica's drive and turned off his engine. He hadn't wanted to bring her home until Tanya had had the opportunity to set up some security for her house. For now, though he would have to settle for Jessica having the comm.

"I'm so sorry." Jessica said trying to hold back tears.

"For what?" Wildwing asked her.

"If it weren't for me you wouldn't have fallen out with Canard." She sniffed getting frustrated with herself for being so pathetic in front of Wildwing, "He's your best friend. I didn't mean to make you fight."

"It's been brewing since he got back." Wildwing shrugged. "He's been pushing the team too hard since he took over again. Draganus isn't as much of a threat here as he was on Puckworld. He doesn't have the weaponry he had then, or the forces. He has no right to make this all about bringing Draganus down. We've lived here for five years and he comes back and changes the whole atmosphere of the team."

"You miss being their leader?" Jessica asked curiously.

"Yes and no." Wildwing shrugged. "I definitely didn't like the responsibility and there was a lot of work involved with both the team side and the crime fighting side. I know I don't miss that. But something about the way Canard is leading them…." He sighed, "Enough about me. Let's get you two inside." He got out of the car and scanned the area but didn't see anything suspicious. He led the pair into the house and as he was about to leave, a hand took his.

"Please don't leave yet." Jessica pleaded. She wouldn't look him in the eye. Jessica couldn't cope if he rejected her right now. She felt his other hand cup her cheek and she looked up at him hopefully. Wildwing leaned forward and nuzzled her forehead, his beak not really allowing him to kiss her as a human would.

"As long as you need." He told her.

"Ewe!" Molly giggled at the sign of affection.

"So, what take out do you guys want me to order?" Wildwing chuckled.

"Pizza!" Molly squealed.

"Pizza coming up." Wildwing shook his head as he closed the door behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

Tanya worked quietly on the security system she was setting up around Jessica's house. It was Saturday and Jessica was doing something in her garage whilst her brother and sister-in-law had taken Molly out for the day. Wildwing had been around earlier in the day but had promised to help Nosedive with something so had disappeared when she had shown up. Tanya smiled at how much Wildwing had been doting over Jessica and Molly. It had been a week since they had found out about both the poison pen letter and the van following Jessica. Since then, Wildwing, would escort Jessica to work then drop off Molly to school to make sure the pair of them got there safely. If he and the team were busy then he has somehow managed to rope Cleghorn into assisting them. He also spent most of his evenings with them as often as their hockey games and crime fighting allowed. She knew that whoever had been harassing the blonde human, would have a hard time hurting her and her daughter with Wildwing around. But there was still a possibility that whoever it was, would strike when none of them could be there. And that was what she was trying to prevent. Her security included panic alarms that were both hooked up to drake one and to an alarm in Cleghorn's office. She and Wildwing had discussed the security measures at length with the captain. The diminutive man had taken the letter Jessica had received and had his investigative team run several checks on it. The last they'd spoken, there had been one unknown partial finger print that had been lifted from part of the letter. Cleghorn had confirmed that there had been no match on their own database, but he'd sent the print to the FBI and pulled a few strings to get it looked at against the national database quicker than it should have been. It was still taking a painfully long time though and she was sure that Wildwing was going to have a nervous breakdown if something didn't come back soon. On the plus side, no more letters, and the van hadn't been seen since the picnic Wildwing had taken them on. Of course, that didn't mean that the person behind everything hadn't merely changed their car and they just hadn't yet noticed it. Tanya wiped her forehead as she finished setting up the last camera and went to find Jessica. She'd promised Wildwing that she wouldn't leave until he was back, but she wasn't going to just sit in Jessica's living room on her own whilst she waited for the white mallard to arrive. She wondered over to the garage and was surprised to find Jessica leaning over the engine of her car tinkering away.

"What are you doing?" Tanya asked curiously looking over Jessica's shoulder to see that parts of the engine had been removed and the woman had a new part to one side.

"She's been playing up for a while and I had a friend of mine machine a part I needed to make her run better," She replied, "I'm just fitting it."

"You know mechanics?" Tanya blinked.

"When your best friend growing up is the best wrench jockey in shy town, you learn a few things?" Jessica winked at her, "Although I only know enough to keep my car going and I sometimes have to skype Charlie to talk me through anything too complicated. And in some cases, I just get her to send me the part and talk me through installing it." Jessica sighed, "I keep trying to get the woman to move here so I can have my own personal mechanic again, but she loves Chicago too much. Plus, I think she has a new man in her life."

"Want a hand?" Tanya offered with a smile.

"Sure!" Tanya grabbed some tools and helped Jessica fit the new part. The blonde duck also gave the rest of the engine a once over to make sure Jessica would have no further problems, at least for a while.

"So, Tanya?" Jessica asked as she wiped off her hands and started putting away her tools. When she was sure she had the fellow blonde's attention, she continued, "Wildwing said you were a research scientist before the invasion?" Tanya looked surprised that he woman was even interested.

"Ye..Yeah." Tanya replied, "I specialised in theoretical physics."

"Wow!" Jessica stopped to look at the female duck, "Now that's impressive!"

"Oh, no!" Tanya chuckled nervously, "More like incredibly boring."

"I'm a teacher Tanya." Jessica laughed, "I spend all day teaching kids, that aren't interested in what happened two weeks ago, the history of the country and the planet." Jessica closed the tool box and heaved it onto the shelf where she liked to store it, "Now that's boring!"

"Don't you like being a teacher?" Tanya asked as she followed Jessica into the main house.

"Yeah, but it wasn't my first choice." Jessica informed Tanya.

"So, what did you want to be when you were a kid?" Tanya pried as she used the sink to wash her hands. Jessica did the same as she pondered whether to admit her secret dreams, there had been so many.

"Well." Jessica paused, "I was a bit of a wild child so I had the usual wild child dreams of being a musician, an artist…." Jessica chuckled, "Charlie and I had our hearts set on being a racing team at one point. You know? Nascar. She'd be the mechanic and I'd be the driver." She sighed lost in a memory almost forgotten, "We used to take part in street races and drag races, but, Eric didn't like me racing and when he proposed, I promised not to race again. He thought it was too dangerous and said it was bad enough when one of us had a dangerous job. That's when I looked into the whole teaching thing."

"Eric was your late husband, right?" Tanya asked and received a nod. "If you don't mind my asking, how did he die?"

"Nosedive didn't tell you?" Jessica asked leaning against the counter. Tanya shook her head no. "Huh, well, Eric's father is a general in the army. Eric followed him into the army and was selected for a specialist team. I don't really know much about it if I'm honest. Just that it paid well and he couldn't tell me anything about what he did when he was away. I was 6 months pregnant when I got a phone call informing me that Eric was missing in action. I later learned that it wasn't just him either. Three weeks later, they found the team." Jessica paused to take a deep steadying breath, "They were all dead."

"That's terrible." Tanya said sympathetically, "So Molly has never met her father?"

"No. She hasn't." Jessica moved towards the kettle, "want something to drink?"

"Oh! I would kill for a coffee!" Tanya said, glad for a change of subject.

"So, what is it that Nosedive needed Wing's help with?" Jessica asked curiously.

"No idea." Tanya shrugged accepting the beverage when Jessica handed it to her. "Both of them were pretty secretive about it."

"Well if I find out my brother has been blabbing I will not be happy." Jessica said without thinking, which piqued Tanya's interest.

"Blabbing about what?" The blonde duck raised a brow.

"Nothing!" Jessica finished her drink and hurried to the couch, but Tanya followed.

"Oh no, you aren't getting away with that!" Tanya pushed, "What is it you don't want your brother blabbing about?"

"It may just be our birthday next week." Jessica admitted making a face to show her displeasure.

"Your…" Tanya frowned at the use of 'our', "Oh yeah, Nosedive mentioned that you and your brother Alex are twins, right?"

"That's right." Jessica smiled, "Alex is always trying to get me to celebrate our birthday with him, but I'm not really into that sort of thing."

"Any reason why?" Tanya asked.

"Not really. Back when I was a kid it was just me, Charlie and Eric." Jessica told her, "Alex was always the one with all the friends so when we had parties it would just be me and my little group in the corner doing our own thing. Eventually we went and did our own thing away from the parties." Jessica saw Tanya making a face that implied she felt sorry for Jessica, "Don't get me wrong, Alex always tried to get his friends to involve me too, but his taste in friends back then was vastly different to mine. I mean he was Mr perfect. He planned to be a doctor, he was on every sports team going. And then there was me. The tom boy that all the boys were scared of because I wasn't afraid to knock their blocks off if they got frisky and I didn't like it. The only team I was on or even interested in was the hockey team. And I stopped playing as soon as I left high school." Jessica let slip.

"You were on the hockey team?!"

"Yes, I was." Jessica laughed as if embarrassed. "I wasn't at the level you guys are at. I mean it was just high school hockey."

"Still, that does explain why you look so comfortable on the ice when the boys take you on the rink." Tanya said.

"I guess." Jessica found she was enjoying Tanya's company. She didn't really have any female friends in Anaheim other than Mary, and her sister-in-law could be a little biased. She was what her clique had called an 'it girl' when they were kids. One of the girls who would have been popular and secretly brainy but loved the party scene. Sharing things with Mary often felt awkward. "Something about being on the ice is relaxing. I even did a little figure skating when I was younger. I never competed or anything. At the time I thought being able to do all those tricks on the ice would give me an edge. It helped with my speed and agility I guess but I kept doing it cause I kind of like being a little lady like every now and again."

"I was never any good at stuff like that." Tanya admitted. "On Puckworld we had to learn all sorts of things at school to keep us safe. We travelled everywhere on our skates. The planet is so cold that there was no amount of grit that could make the roads and walkways safe to walk on without ice spikes or skates."

"How do you cope here?!" Jessica asked, "You must hate the summer months!"

"It was unbearable at first." Tanya admitted, "But eventually we moulted and our feathers thinned out and we only suffer on the hottest of days now."

"And I thought I had it bad having to shave my legs!" Jessica winked. Tanya nearly spat out the mouthful of coffee she had just sipped when she laughed.

"Well we certainly don't have to worry about that sort of thing!" Tanya laughed again.

"So, if you don't mind my asking," Jessica leaned forward, "How do you guys give birth?"

"You mean do we lay eggs or something?" Tanya chuckled.

"Well yeah, I mean you guys look like human versions of birds here," Jessica said, then paused, "You don't think I'm rude for asking do you?" Jess cringed.

"Nah, it's natural to be curious." Tanya smiled at her, "I wouldn't be a scientist if I didn't think so. And no, we don't lay eggs. Actually, our bodies work very much in the same way your bodies do. Our world is in another dimension so in theory Puckworld is our universe's earth. We give birth just like you do. So, no eggs, no incubation periods. The baby grows in a female duck's womb and is born just like Molly would have been."

"Do you miss Puckworld?" Jessica asked.

"So much." Tanya sighed, "I didn't have a lot of friends but I could disappear into the crowds there. Here I can't do that anywhere."

"Sounds stressful." Jessica took Tanya's now empty mug, "Another?"

"Yes please." Tanya replied, "And yes. To a certain extent. I mean I'm a theoretical scientist. But s…since the invasion I've had to become an inventor, mechanic, computer expert…"

"But you're a genius," Jess pointed out, "I'm willing to bet you picked them up really quickly."

"I guess, but I would give anything to go back to my lab and begin researching theoretical physics again."

"Maybe you will." Jessica shrugged as she returned with the mugs now refilled with the warm nectar that Tanya lived off.

"I doubt it. Draganus' teleportation technology is beyond even my understanding." Tanya said forlornly.

"How do you know?"

"Huh?" Tanya looks at her.

"Well, from what Wildwing tells me you can build anything." Jessica looked straight back at her, "Who's to say that you couldn't build your own version of his teleporter if you got your hands on the full device or some schematics or something?"

"I don't know about that." Tanya blushed.

"You don't have very high self-esteem do you Tanya?" Jessica asked kindly.

"I d..don…I'm not sure what you mean." Tanya stuttered then cursed herself.

"It's ok. We all have a weakness or two. Even the strongest people on the outside have something that can hold them back." Jessica told her.

"Oh yeah. And what's your weakness." Tanya snapped without meaning too. She was embarrassed and had lashed out but instantly regretted it. But Jessica hadn't seemed to mind.

"I tend to settle." Jessica admitted, "I don't strive for what I want and I can often loose out a result. And I can let my fears get the best of me. Especially since Eric died. I can get crippling panic attacks. They aren't as bad or as frequent as they were a few years ago. But every now and again they happen and sometimes I don't even know why. I felt one coming on that day I admitted to Wildwing what was going on. I would have been so embarrassed if it had taken hold. I was so thankful I managed to keep it under control."

"Why would you have been embarrassed? Wildwing wouldn't have held it against you. He's not like that." The blonde duck assured.

"I know. But he has enough to worry about without worrying about me."

"Is that why you di,,, didn't tell him sooner?" Tanya asked.

"I guess."

"You like him don't you." Tanya grinned, "I mean really like him!"

"What?!" Jessica blushed bright red, reminding Tanya of a certain tall mallard's reaction when she had asked the very same thing about his feelings for Jessica. "I mean. He's very kind and sweet and …um… well I mean what woman wouldn't like a hero… but he wouldn't like a human like that…right?"

"Oh please!" Tanya scoffed, "He's so hot on you he can't think straight!"

"Really?" Jessica asked. "You think so?"

"Think? I know!" Tanya laughed.

"So?" Nosedive asked his brother, "What do you think?"

"About what?" Wildwing asked his little brother who rolled his eyes dramatically.

"About the restaurant?!" As if it were the most obvious subject in the world, "You're gonna ask her right?"

"I don't know Dive. She might not want to go out with me like that." Wildwing shook his head in amusement at his brother's enthusiasm since he had admitted to Nosedive, two nights before, that he had liked Jessica as more than a friend. "I don't want to ruin what we have now." He added with a shrug. Wildwing had been worried at first that his brother would find it repulsive, given his history of disliking humans. But the young duck had surprised his older brother by not only being fine with his feelings but by constantly harassing the older duck to ask the woman out romantically ever since.

When the pair had found out it was Jessica's birthday the following weekend Nosedive had insisted that the pair go shopping for the perfect gift for Jessica. Nosedive had even gone to the effort of speaking with Alex to find out what Jessica might like and Alex had told them that she would probably appreciate some new skates. Nosedive had then found out that Jessica had not only played hockey but had also dabbled in figure skating. Alex had told the younger Flashblade that he knew that Jessica still had the same set of skates for hockey as she did when she left school and her figure skating skates were even older. So Wildwing and Nosedive had visited the best skate shop in town. Nosedive had picked out some hockey skates for her together with some funky laces he thought she might appreciate as opposed to the plain ones that came with them. Wildwing on the other hand picked out a pair of figure skates for her. He had stared at the various pairs for sale for some time before a member of staff had come over and asked if she could help. Wildwing explained to her that he knew what he wanted but he couldn't decide between the white skates or the flesh coloured ones. She had asked him who they were for and whether they were for competing then suggested the white skates as the leather was better quality and it had fine detailing embossed on the leather that she really thought would make the gift that much more special. He had taken her word for it and had chosen the recommended skates. Both presents were safely tucked in the back of Wildwing's jeep and he was going to stop at the pond to drop his brother off before slipping off to Jessica's again to relieve Tanya and check on Jessica. Before long he had entrusted the gifts to Nosedive who was going to stash them in his room, where no one would find them, and he was soon making his way over to Jessica's house.

When he got there, he could hear laughter coming from inside. He raised a brow and knocked on the door. There was a scrambling sound and the door swung open to reveal a rather tipsy looking Jessica.

"Wildwing!" Jessica slurred, "What took you so long?" Wildwing gaped and tried not to laugh then heard giggling further inside the house.

"Are you two drunk?" He asked and Jessica joined Tanya in laughing. She dragged him into the house and over to Tanya who was helping herself to some red wine.

"You know I've never been a drinker but this wine is incredible!" Tanya declared, "You should have some Wildwing!"

"I'm good." Wildwing excused himself, incredibly amused at the sight of the usually reserved scientist clearly three sheets to the wind.

"Awe!" Jessica wrapped her arms round his neck and he gulped at how close she was, "But you need to loosen up and wine will help you do just that!"

"I think it would be best if one of us stays sober." Wildwing chuckled quite enjoying the closeness of Jessica's warm body. "Um, isn't Molly due home any minute."

"Nah. Alex called, and Molly wants to stay at his. So, I told Tanya she could bunk in the spare room, so we could enjoy some sophisticated adult drinking!" Wildwing laughed at the woman who still had her arms around his neck. He wasn't sure when his left arm had snaked around her waist but she didn't seem to mind and he certainly felt comfortable with it there.

"So Wildwing?" Tanya said after a long swig from her glass, no longer remembering when Jessica had even suggested a glass of wine. Which of course turned into several. "When are you going to ask Jessica out already?" Jessica had been taking a swig out of her own glass at the time and she nearly choked on her own wine.

"Tanya!" Jessica laughed.

"Oh, come on! The pair of you clearly like each other!" Tanya snapped pouring yet more wine! "Just get on with it!" The pair in question looked at each other and blushed.

"Well…" Wildwing started as his heart began beating nineteen to the dozen, "I have been meaning to ask if you wanted to go out for your birthday next week." He spat out almost too quickly for either girl to understand, least of all the girl who still had his arm around her waist.

"You want…Me?!" Jessica stared up at him as if trying to decipher if he had really asked her the question she thought he had, or if it was just her drunken mind playing tricks on her.

"Well?!" Tanya pushed, "Answer him!" She instructed as if talking to a small child who was misbehaving.

"Um, I would love to." Jessica replied with a deep blush.

"Yay!" Tanya cheered, "This calls for another drink!" She declared and topped up both her drink and Jessica's. Wildwing laughed at the two women who continued to make fools of themselves for several hours before passing out on the couch at around midnight. He carried Jessica to her room to put her to bed. Once he had done so, he removed her shoes before pulling the covers over her. He smiled fondly at her as she groaned only to roll on to her side and curl up into a ball with a smile on her face. He went back downstairs and proceeded to take Tanya to the spare room to do the same for his teammate. Knowing full well that he wouldn't fit into Molly's bed if he tried, he made himself comfortable on the couch and was soon asleep.

He wasn't sure what time it was when something woke him. All he knew was that it was still dark outside and something didn't feel right. He reached for the puck blaster that he'd placed under the pillow and got up. He held his gun at the ready and checked the house. He then moved to the kitchen and peered out into the dark garden. When he was satisfied that there was no one lurking there, he moved to the living room window to the front of the house. He cracked the curtains and peered out onto the street. The street lamps immediately in front of the house glowed eerily in the darkness, but other than the lights he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. He noticed that the neighbours across the way seemed to either be up or had simply left their downstairs light on. But he didn't think that was anything to worry about.

"So, what woke me up?" He wondered aloud to himself. He sighed and righted the curtains again before making his way back to the couch. Soon he was once again asleep.

Two days later, Tanya had fully completed her set up of the security system at Jessica's house which meant that both Jessica and Molly now had communicators with panic buttons on and their house would alert both them and the police if anything went wrong. Wildwing had made doubly sure that both Jessica and Molly were able to use the comm units, particularly the panic button. While Tanya made sure Jessica knew exactly what to do with the security system and Molly knew where all the panic buttons placed throughout the house were in the case of any attacks. Jessica couldn't express how grateful she was to Wildwing and the other ducks for the lengths they were going to, to ensure the safety of herself and her daughter. And she now had her first date in over a year to look forward to, on her birthday no less. She walked along the street with Molly skipping at her side. Her daughter was singing a song Jessica recognised as having been from the cartoon, my little pony and she smiled at her daughter. Before long the pair was home from her brother's house where Molly had stayed the night before and Jessica had turned on a movie for her daughter and began making dinner for them both. Once they had eaten, she asked Molly to go wash up and get dressed for bed. Molly had whined but had given in when her mother had agreed to let her watch one more episode of one of her shows before bed if she did so with no complaint. Once Molly was watching her show, Jessica moved to make sure the security was definitely on and all her doors were locked. She knew she had already checked but she was still a little on edge when one of the ducks weren't around. She frowned as she got to the control panel that controlled the security system. It was meant to have flashing lights but it was dark. As if there was no power going to it. Jessica backed away and turned to the door. She didn't know why but she had a terrible sinking feeling. Despite the falling feeling in her stomach, she moved towards the door and slowly looked through her peep hole. She jumped back at what she saw. Behind her door was a man's eyes staring back. Whoever it was, was wearing a balaclava. The man behind the door began kicking the door hard, as if trying to break it down.

"Mommy? What's that noise?" Molly came around the side of the couch to a better look at the front door with a fearful look.

"Molly, it's a bad man! I need you to press your panic button and run!" Jessica said feeling sick to her stomach as the door began to lurch. She knew it wouldn't be long before the door was kicked in and she couldn't have Molly nearby when that happened.

"Mommy?" Molly squeaked.

"Molly I'm going to let you out the kitchen door and I want you to run as fast as you can away from the house. Do you understand?" Jessica told her child as she pulled the little girl to the kitchen door. Jessica didn't risk anything and firmly pressed the button on her daughter's comm unit that would bring the ducks running. She pressed her own as well. Then she opened the back door and turned to her daughter again. "Promise me you won't stop running till you find a friend to help you okay?"

"Okay mommy." Molly replied not sounding too sure. It was then that he door gave way.

"Now Molly! Run!" Jessica yelled she pushed her daughter then slammed the door shut to stop whoever had just broken in from getting near her daughter. Or at the very least, slow him down to give Molly a fighting chance of finding help. Just as she managed to relock the door, she was grabbed from behind and yanked back by her hair. She let out a terrified scream.

Wildwing and Nosedive gunned their bikes along the Anaheim streets. Tanya had called them to let them know that Jessica's security had gone down and she didn't know why. She and the others were looking into some teleportation energy outside of the city, while they had been looking into an unusual disturbance on the other side of the city that turned out to be a kidnapping. So, they were the only ones that could go check it out. Just as the brothers roared onto Jessica's street they skidded to a halt at the sight of the familiar blonde child sprinting as fast as she could along the sidewalk. When the little girl saw them, she threw herself at Nosedive, who was the closest to her, and cried her eyes out.

"There's a bad man!" She wailed, "There's a bad man trying to get into our house!"

"Where's your mother?!" Wildwing asked urgently.

"I don't know!" Molly cried into Nosedive's shoulder as he picked her up and held her as close as he could to make sure she knew she was safe with him.

"Nosedive, call Cleghorn and stay with Molly!" Wildwing ordered before gunning his engine and sped towards Jessica's house. When he got there, he noticed that some of the neighbours were on their front lawns staring at the house. All except the ones directly opposite Jessica's house. As he skidded to a stop, a woman Wildwing knew was called Cindy ran over to him.

"We heard screaming!" She told him, "David's called the police but…" She was interrupted by another scream causing Cindy to cover her mouth in horror. Wildwing wasted no time in quick changing into his battle gear before running into the house. As he entered, it was clear that there had been a scuffle. Furniture had been overturned and Jessica's belongings were scattered across the floor. It didn't take long to notice the display cabinet that had been at the top of the stairs now sitting in a heap at the bottom of said stairs. He presumed that Jessica had fled upstairs and had pushed the cabinet down the stairs in an attempt to stop or slow down whoever was attacking her. He leapt over the cabinet and took the stairs three at a time.

"Jess?!" He called as he flung open first the bathroom door, then the spare room before he could check Molly's another scream sounded from Jessica's room. Wildwing sprinted towards the room and flung the door open, his blaster at the ready. What he found made him see red. A man wearing a balaclava, combat gear and black gloves was wrestling with Jessica on the floor. Jessica was bloodied, one eyes was very black and almost closed from the swelling already developing. Her nose looked broken and blood gushed from it. Wildwing didn't even want to think about any other injuries the woman might have under her clothes. To her credit she was still fighting back and when Wildwing had flung the door open, she had used the distraction to free her right fist and sucker punched her attacker. The man turned angrily and punched her back hard enough for Jessica to be dazed. Wildwing levelled his gun at her attacker, "Back off!" He demanded. While Wildwing couldn't see the man's face, it was clear from his eyes that the man smirked at him. Wildwing growled and fired a warning shot above the attacker's head. "Back away from her, now!" He reiterated. The attacker stood up but made no attempt to move away from Jessica, who rolled over with a groan as she held her head. The attacker seemed to study him for a moment before moving like lightening towards Wildwing. Wildwing growled in frustration as the man weaved in a way that meant any attempt to shoot him, would mean he risked hitting Jessica by accident. Wildwing braced himself for the man's attack. He was stronger than he looked and Wildwing grunted at the force with which the man's body connected with his. Wildwing dodged one punch to his beak but hadn't seen the knife until it was too late. It slipped into his side before he could make any attempt to block it. Wildwing cried out in pain as the attacker twisted the knife and pulled it back out mercilessly. Wildwing dropped to one knee and held his side. It took all he had not to pass out right then and there, but he knew that he and Jessica would likely both be dead if he did, so he fought it.

"Wildwing!" Jessica felt sick as she saw the blood seeping from Wildwing's side. She looked around her room and picked up the beside table. It was light and a little bit flimsy, but would do as a temporary weapon. She limped over to the attacker as fast as she could and swung her weapon at him. The man dodged it and took hold of the table before snatching it out of her hands. He proceeded to swing the table at her in return and it connected with enough force to throw her a few feet across the room. When Jessica landed, she didn't get up. Satisfied, the attacker turned back to Wildwing who was desperately trying to get to his feet. Before the attacker could proceed with finishing off Wildwing they heard the police sirens. The attacker seemed to decide it was too risky to stay and shot off out of the room and disappeared.

Wildwing crawled over to Jessica and shaky fingers thankfully found a pulse. However, she had a nasty gash in her forehead that was bleeding profusely. Wildwing pulled Jessica onto her back and opened his comm, "Guys can you hear me?" He asked breathlessly.

"Wildwing what's happened." Canard asked over the communication device.

"She…" His vision was going blurry and he almost cursed the situation, "She was being attacked. Dive's with Molly…She's hurt." He told them.

"What about you?" Canard asked with concern for his friend. Even over the video image, Canard could tell something wasn't right with his friend.

"He had a knife…" Wildwing said quietly as dark spots began to dance across his vision, "I..." Wildwing groaned and finally passed out, his com link still open, his right arm and upper body draped over Jessica's body as if still trying to protect her.

"Wildwing?!" Canard called over the link, desperately staring at the screen that merely showed the inside of Jessica's room and not his friends face any more. "Wildwing!" He called again after he received no response. In the back ground he heard voices calling for EMTs and he turned to Mallory, "We need to get to them. Now!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

Nosedive sat in the hospital waiting room with a sleeping Molly held tightly in his arms. He couldn't get the image of his brother being rolled out on an ambulance gurney out of his mind. Jessica had been brought out shortly after, also unconscious. Nosedive could only stand and stare, holding onto a wailing Molly as he watched on in a numb stupor. The authorities had sprung into action and they were soon at the nearest hospital. They had asked Nosedive to assist them in removing Wildwing's armour. He had also told them that he had the same blood type as his brother, so they had taken as much blood from him as they could without harming the young mallard. It was when they had finished taking blood that Alex had appeared. Nosedive had only met Jessica's twin brother and his wife, Mary briefly a few times, although he'd spoken to him over the phone a few times as well. Jessica talked about him and Mary a lot and Nosedive knew that Alex was a doctor that worked in a smaller hospital on the other side of the city. He also knew that his wife Mary was currently heavily pregnant and due to give birth pretty soon, so he knew Alex was stressed enough as it was at the moment without everything that was going on.

"Uncle Alex!" Molly called not letting go of Nosedive for an instant. "Are you going to make mommy and Mr Wildwing better?"

"I'm going to see if I can help sweetheart." Alex smiled gently at his niece. Nosedive could see that he was related to Jessica. He knew they were twins, but they weren't identical, for obvious reasons. However, like Jessica he had light blonde hair and gentle eyes. He wore his hair neat but not particularly short and he had a light beard and moustache. Alex's build was somewhere between Nosedive's and Wildwing's and he was maybe an inch taller than his twin.

"They won't tell me anything." Nosedive looked at the older man with pleading eyes.

"They've taken Wildwing to surgery. The surgeons here aren't too keen on operating on an alien." Alex almost spat, showing his disgust at the surgeons' behaviour, "There's some internal damage and they need to fix that up. Seems your physiology isn't dissimilar to ours despite our differences. I'm going to go and lend a hand myself. Mary will be here soon to sit with you both."

"Thanks Alex." Nosedive unconsciously held Molly a little closer as if for comfort. Molly buried her head in the duck's chest wishing the day to be over and he mother and Wildwing to be okay.

"After everything you guys have been doing to protect my sister and niece?" Alex placed his right hand on Dive's left shoulder and squeezed, "It's the least I can do. I'd better go. Everything will be okay. You'll see." With that Alex left.

Soon after Alex had disappeared, Nosedive had been shown to the waiting room. He had pulled Molly onto his lap once more and she had cuddled into him before falling asleep. Nosedive himself had simply stared at the opposite wall as if in a trance. Which was probably why he nearly jumped out of his skin when a dark-skinned hand found his shoulder. He looked at the owner to find Mary smiling sadly at him. She had a back pack on her that she held in her hand as she slowly lowered herself into the seat beside him, leaning heavily on his shoulder as she did.

"Any news on either of them." She asked. Nosedive simply shook his head, "Have either of you had anything to eat this evening."

"I haven't" Nosedive replied quietly, "I don't know about Molly."

"Poor little baby must have been terrified." Mary stroked the child's hair gently. "Well, if you want anything, I have snacks in my bag, as well as drinks. Lord knows the food in these places is horrible."

"Thanks Mary." Nosedive smiled, "I don't think I could eat if I tried though." He added apologetically.

"Well the offer's there the minute you get hungry sweetie." She smiled at him kindly.

"What the hell happened!" Canard snapped at that moment as he and the rest of the team rushed through the doors with a harried looking nurse at their heels who had obviously been trying to show them the way. Mary and Nosedive jumped at the sudden noise and Molly squeaked in fear. In her sleep ridden haze, she thought there was danger again and she began crying in fear and held onto Nosedive for dear life. Canard paused at the scathing look the very pregnant black woman beside his teammate gave him and the crying child in said teammate's arms. He chose to ignore the pair and focused on Nosedive, "Well?"

"We were checking out why Jessica's security went down." Nosedive explained, strangely calm. "We found Molly running down the street. Wildwing told me to stay with her and call Cleghorn. He went into the house and I heard Jessica screaming. When the cops and paramedics came they brought them out, but they were both unconscious."

"You let him go in there alone?!" Canard demanded.

"He told me to stay with Molly." Nosedive said quietly.

"You let your brother go into a dangerous situation alone," Canard said through gritted teeth, "just because of some brat?!"

"Now wait just a god darn minute!" Mary stood up quicker than any of the bystanders thought would have been possible given how big her stomach was. "That little girl needed protecting and Nosedive did exactly what he should have done!" Mary moved closer to glare up at the current leader of the mighty ducks. If Nosedive wasn't so worried about his brother he would have found it hilarious that this woman was squaring off to Canard who considered himself a hardened resistance fighter. His face was priceless too, so much so that Nosedive managed a small smile.

"It's ok Mary." Nosedive said after allowing her to intimidate Canard for a few moments, "I'm used to him by now."

"No! It is not all right!" Her glare never left Canard, "He has no business talking to you like that and I will not stand by and let him do it!"

"Mary?" The woman did a full 180 and her expression immediately softened as she turned to her husband who had returned during the altercation, "Is everything okay?" He asked looking at Canard suspiciously.

"I'm sure we'll work it out baby." She gave Canard a dirty look. The tan mallard gave her an incredulous look which received him a kick in the shins from Mallory.

"How are the patients?" Mary asked what everyone else wanted to know.

"Jess is going to look pretty bad for a while and she has a nasty concussion," Alex sighed, "She'll be ok though."

"And Wildwing?" Canard asked before the question could even leave Nosedive's beak.

"He's stable." Alex said in Nosedive's direction as opposed to Canard. He was a doctor and, in these situations, the next of kin were who he wanted to keep informed first. Not some controlling friend, or in this case leader. "The wound wasn't as deep as we originally thought, it was mostly the blood loss that was the problem and the knife had nicked the large intestine." At Nosedives worried look he quickly added, "We've patched him up and he's in recovery."

"Can we move him?" Tanya asked wanting to know when she could get her teammate into the safety of the pond.

"I would wait until he wakes up before moving him." Alex said honestly, and Tanya nodded.

"He should have been taken straight to the pond." Canard stated to no one in particular.

"Oh yeah?" Duke snapped at his leader, "And what good would that have done?! We weren't there! They would have got there and then what? They dump him on Phil?" Duke growled.

"Duke's got a point Canard." Mallory placed what she hoped was a calming hand onto Canard's arm. "He might have died if they hadn't brought him here." Canard looked at his teammates, none of whom seemed to share his opinion of the situation.

"Fine." He spat before storming off.

"What is matter with him right now?" Tanya asked shooting a glare at the swinging door through which her leader had just left.

"I just don't know." Mallory admitted.

"He was always a jerk, but he was never this bad." Nosedive admitted earning him an angry look from Mallory.

"I fear he is hiding demons that he must bring into the open to face before he can move on into the future." Grin added in his usual cryptic manner.

"What does that mean?" Alex asked Nosedive quietly.

"I've given up trying to work out what he's talking about half the time." Nosedive whispered back, and added with a shrug "But he's usually right."

"I see." Alex didn't look convinced.

"Alex." Nosedive looked to Jessica's brother, "Can I see him?" Alex chuckled.

"I'm such an idiot." Alex shook his head at himself, "You must be worried sick. Of course. You can sit with him if you want. Mary and I will take Molly to see Jessica."

"I can see mommy?" Molly perked up. Then she turned to Nosedive looking fearful, "You'll still be close though right?" Nosedive was aware that his team were looking from the little girl to him in shock at her question.

"I'll be close by I promise." Nosedive said hugging her close before handing her to Alex.

They left the rest of his team who had told him that they would look into why Tanya's security system had failed. Alex led Nosedive down the hall to an elevator. They went up by three flights and then he was led to a hall with what he was told were private rooms. Towards the end of the hall Alex stopped outside of one of the rooms and opened the door. Inside, on a bed and surrounded by beeping machines, was Wildwing. He looked better than when Nosedive had seen him earlier that evening. He had some colour to his cheeks, and he no longer had the odd grimace that had been on Wildwing's face. Nosedive pulled a chair over to the side of the bed and sat down beside his brother. He went to hold his sleeping brother's hand but paused.

"He won't break." Mary encouraged with a chuckle.

"He's only sleeping." Alex explained. "you won't hurt him." Nosedive nodded and gently took his brother's hand. "I'd better take Molly to see her mom. One of us will come to check on you guys in a little bit ok." Nosedive nodded and heard the door gently close. Behind the door he could hear Molly asking her uncle why Wildwing was sleeping. Alex could be heard explaining that Wildwing had hurt himself and needed to sleep to get better.

Nosedive stared at his motionless brother. His brother had been injured before. But miraculously he had only ever had bumps, bruises and the odd concussion. Even when they were slaves, his brother was like some invincible being that was always there to protect him. No one ever messed with him in the camps, no one even messed with him before the invasion. He was tiny when his father had died and Wildwing had stepped up to become both his brother and a stand in for his dad. They still had their mother, but she had to work ridiculous hours and had to trust that her boys would behave and Wildwing had made sure that they both lived up to her expectations.

"Nosedive?" the blonde snapped his eyes to look at his brother only to see Wildwing looking back at him.

"Hey bro!" Nosedive replied quietly with a beaming smile and relieved eyes.

"Is Jess…?" Wildwing asked with urgency in his weak gaze. His brother's body tensed.

"She's roughed up but ok." Nosedive assured.

"Molly?"

"Not a scratch." Nosedive again assured his brother. Wildwing visibly relaxed.

"What happened bro?" Nosedive asked despite himself, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"It looked like someone broke into the house and Jessica put up a fight." Wildwing said, "I found them upstairs and he was wailing on her."

"Why didn't he stab her?" Nosedive wondered outload without meaning to.

"I don't know." Wildwing admitted, "The knife was concealed." He closed his eyes trying to remember anything about what happened that might help figure out who the attacker was, "I didn't even see it. All I remember was his slamming it into my side."

"You didn't see who the guy was?"

"His face was covered." Wildwing replied furrowing his brow, "She was so scared. If I had been any later… She …."

"She's ok man!" Nosedive assured again quickly, "You saved her and she's gonna be ok because of you!"

"I should have been quicker." Wildwing argued, "I shouldn't have left her alone in the first place."

"You can't be with her 24/7," Nosedive tried to reason, "For one Jessica wouldn't allow it and two, the only way you could would be to let her move into the pond."

"I wanted her to, Dive." Wildwing admitted. Nosedive blinked in surprise but didn't say anything, "I argued with Canard about it. He…"

"Wouldn't let her." Nosedive finished bitterly. "I know he's your friend man, but he's always been a jerk and right now he's taken that to the extreme."

"He wasn't like it before the invasion." Wildwing reasoned. Nosedive just sighed, now was not the time to get into an argument they had been having long before the invasion of their home planet.

"Ms Fury!" A muffled voice called from the hallway. The two ducks looked to the doorway as it flung open, "You are supposed to be resting!" The first voice added in an exasperated tone. Jessica stood in the doorway staring at Wildwing in relief. "Ms Fury, please!" A nurse pleaded from behind her. Jessica ignored the woman and walked over to the bed. Nosedive stood up and offered Jessica his seat. She took it gratefully.

"Are you ok?" She leant forward and took Wildwing's hand gently.

"I'll be fine." He assured her. He removed his hand from hers in favour of ghosting his thumb over one of the more painful looking bruises on her face, "I'm sorry I wasn't there sooner."

"Oh please, you got there!" Jessica tried to roll her eyes, but it ended in a grimace, "That guy was hell bent on killing me. Would have too if you hadn't burst in. Just wish I knew who the hell he was and why he's after me. I don't even know how he broke in without setting off those alarms of Tanya's."

"The alarm system went down." Nosedive told her.

"He could have deactivated it." Wildwing mused.

"Ms Fury!" The nurse snapped again, "I really must insist that you go back to your room and rest."

"You insist huh?" Jessica turned to the woman, "And what are you going to do about it?"

"Is that really necessary?" Wildwing rolled his eyes, "She's just doing her job."

"Ugh fine." Jessica sighed. She went to get up but seemed to have second thoughts. She leaned over and kissed Wildwing's cheek, "Thanks for saving me." She smiled at the deep blush that she'd caused whilst Nosedive sniggered behind them.

"Ms Fury." The nurse said impatiently.

"All right. All right!" Jessica stood up and wobbled. She got her balance and composure then began walking back out of the room with her head held high. She glanced back at Wildwing one more time before walking out of sight with the nurse close behind her.

"Dude." Wildwing looked at his brother, "You got it bad!" Nosedive laughed.

"Is it that obvious?" Wildwing chuckled.

"Well if saving her life wasn't a big clue," Nosedive smirked at his brother, "That goofy look you got when she kissed you, was the clincher." Wildwing rolled his eyes at his brother's teasing but said nothing, "So you gonna ask her out already or what?"

"Um, I already did." Wildwing admitted avoiding looking at his brother.

"What?! And you didn't tell me?!" Nosedive demanded, "Dude, not cool!"

"Tanya knew!" Wildwing defended.

"Wait why does she know?!" Nosedive asked, "I mean why would you tell her and not your lovable little brother?" The younger Flashblade pouted.

"Well she happened to be there when I asked." Wildwing shrugged, "Actually, they were drunk at the time and I was really hoping Tanya was too drunk to remember."

"Hahaha! Dude, what if Jessica was the one to have the drunken black out?!"

"Then I guess I would have had to ask her again." Wildwing admitted with a wry smile.

"Uh, hey buddy." The brothers looked to the doorway where the voice had come from to find Canard in the doorway. "Mind if I come in?"

"Of course not." Wildwing smiled at his best friend. Nosedive however tensed and stood up.

"I'm gonna go grab something to eat." Nosedive said before quickly leaving.

"Dive?" Wildwing called after his little brother with a worried frown, but his brother ignored him and disappeared from view. Wildwing hadn't missed that the younger mallard was avoiding Canard's gaze. "Canard." Wildwing glared at his friend. "What did you say to him."

"Me?!" Canard began to object but sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "I may have chewed him out for letting you go in alone."

"I told him to stay with Molly." Wildwing said sternly, "If that attacker had come out the front then he could have taken her, or worse. I wasn't about to risk that." Canard looked at his friend for a moment in silence.

"You really care about this human and her kid, don't you?"

"Yes." Wildwing answered honestly. "I don't suppose you've heard whether or not the cops have picked up the attacker?"

"No, not yet." Canard was still studying his friend, "Well," he sighed, "given Tanya's security didn't work, I guess we'd better have Jessica and her family stay at the pond till he's caught."

"But… you said…"

"That was before I realised the danger they were in and how much they meant to you." Canard leant against the wall nearest to the door and crossed his arms, "I'm not a complete jerk. Despite what your brother thinks. And any idiot can see that woman makes you happy. Just don't expect me to like her." Canard gave his friend a wry smile, "You always did like the odd balls."

"Shut up Canard." Wing said with a chuckle, "I do not always pick weird girls."

"Oh please, you're first girlfriend was a space case, and as for the last girl you dated…" Canard laughed.

"Hey, she wasn't that bad!" Wildwing defended.

"If you say so."

"You're lucky I know you're not really as bad as you let on Canard." Wildwing shook his head. "But thank you. I'll feel much safer knowing they're at the pond where we can protect them properly. Whoever that was won't get in down there."

"Just promise me you won't ever ask me to take care of the kid." Canard shook himself as if repulsed.

"I wouldn't trust you with a kid for all the money in the world!" Wildwing admitted with a laugh.

"I'm glad you're ok buddy."

"Yeah yeah," Wildwing yawned, "Just do me a favour and stop picking on my little brother ok? He means well and he's better than you give him credit for." Wildwing felt his eyes droop and before Canard could answer, his friend had slipped off to sleep.

"I know Wildwing." Canard said softly so as not to wake him, "But if I'm not hard on him and he gets hurt I don't wanna think what you'd do." Canard sat down on one of the chairs in the room. He wasn't going to risk anyone attacking his friend when he was so vulnerable. Police were already guarding the room holding Jessica, but he had asked Duke and Grin to assist them. So he would personally ensure the safety of Wildwing.

After a while, there was a knock on the door and Canard looked up to see Cleghorn in the doorway.

"Cleghorn?" Canard greeted with a nod.

"Those two are lucky to be alive." The police captain said grimly.

"What do you mean?" Canard asked as Cleghorn walked closer. Out of the corner of his eye, the tan mallard noticed that Wildwing was, once again awake and listening intently. Cleghorn nodded to Wildwing as he stood by the end of the hospital bed.

"You spent a lot of time at Ms Fury's house recently, right?" Cleghorn asked Wildwing. The white mallard nodded. "You notice anything odd in the last couple of days? With any of the other houses in the street?"

"Not really." Wildwing said wincing as he tried to sit up properly. Canard rolled his eyes and assisted his friend. "Wait." Wildwing frowned, "The other night something woke me up, I never figured out what it was though. Why?"

"A couple known as Mr and Mrs Houser. Know em?" Cleghorn asked him.

"The old couple in the house opposite?" Wildwing asked, "Yeah, they would wave to me and Jessica. Mr Houser is a fan. Mrs Houser always buy sweets for Molly."

"Was." Cleghorn said with a frown.

"Excuse me?" Wildwing gave the human a worried look.

"We were questioning the neighbours in Ms Fury's street. When we got to the Houser residence no one answered." He explained, "One of my officers checked the windows and doors. When they got to the rear, the back-door's lock had been forced. They checked inside and found Mr and Mrs Houser dead in their beds. Someone had not only killed the couple, but it looked like they had done so to use the house. I can't be sure, but it might have been our stalker."

"They killed an old couple to get to Jessica?!" Canard exclaimed. "Who the hell is this guy?!"

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Cleghorn told them, "But the house has been wiped clean. No prints, no DNA, nothing. This guy knows what he's doing."

"Making him all the more dangerous." Wildwing frowned.

"I've got a large team posted here at the hospital." Cleghorn assured them, "I'm pretty sure this guy won't risk going for her again until the heat has died down. But I don't want to take any risks. I'm going to suggest putting them into protective…"

"She's staying with us." Wildwing interjected, "She'll be safe at the pond."

"We'll be inviting her brother and his wife too." Canard informed him.

"I couldn't think of anything better." Cleghorn smiled, "Certainly saves me some paperwork." Cleghorn stuffed his hands into his pockets, "Well, I've already spoken to Ms Fury. I'd better get back to the station to write up my report. I'll let you know if we find anything. Just make sure you let me know if you find anything out too. When you and Ms Fury are up to is, I will want you both in for a statement."

"Of course." Wildwing replied as Canard merely nodded and with that Cleghorn left them to themselves.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

"Are you sure that's everything?" Wildwing asked as his uninjured teammates finished carrying in one last box into the migrator.

"Everything I'm going to need." Jessica shrugged, "Molly, time to go!" She called after her daughter who came skipping out holding a build a bear version of a Celestia from my little pony in her arms.

"Can I take Celestia?" She asked.

"Sure baby." Jessica ruffled her daughter's hair. The child smiled and skipped onto the migrator. Wildwing and Jessica could hear Nosedive calling her over, so he could strap her into a seat. "Thank you for this."

"For what?" Wildwing Asked.

"Well…," She paused as if to choose her words, "For saving me that night, for letting us stay with you till that psycho is caught, for taking in my brother and Mary in too!" She took a breath, "You really don't have to."

"For one," Wildwing stepped forward and lifted her chin so she would look at him, "I was not about to just let that creep kill you, and while I wanted you to move in, Canard is the one who gave the go ahead. So, I'm not the one you have to thank."

"When you two have stopped giving each other goo goo eyes, can we get going?" Canard asked from the doorway of the migrator. The pair looked at each other then began walking towards the vehicle.

"Are you sure it was him that said we could move in." Jessica asked with a whisper watching Canard walk ahead of them and sit down in one of the seats. Wildwing just chuckled and took his place beside his brother.

Before long they were at the pond and the ducks were busy helping Jessica and Molly fill one of the spare rooms with their belongings. When all of the boxes were in the room, the majority of the ducks left to go and collect Alex and Mary's belongings too. That left just Tanya, Duke, Wildwing and Jessica to unpack, whilst Molly took a nap on her bunk.

"What's this?" Duke asked picking up a book like photo frame. On one side was a picture of a dark-haired man in uniform, displayed on the other side of the frame was a medal.

"Oh, um," Jessica took the frame gently and placed it on the side. "That's Eric, my late husband." She explained. "He died in combat." She added when she noticed the unasked questions in Duke's eyes.

"I'm sorry." Duke placed a comforting hand on Jessica's shoulder.

"It's ok." Jessica said brushing off some invisible dust off of the frame, "It was several years ago now. And he'd come back to haunt me if he thought I hadn't moved on." She winked to lighten the mood. Wildwing smiled at the woman. He knew the subject of her husband was a touchy one and something Jessica rarely liked to bring up. But despite that she was trying to make Duke feel better about the little mistake in bringing up said subject.

"Well, your brother and sister in law should be here soon," Wildwing said going to lift one of the remaining boxes onto the side to better empty the contents, "Maybe we should…"

"Don't you dare!" Tanya snapped and picked up the box herself and placed it carefully on the side. "I keep telling you to take it easy. You may be healing well but you take it too quick and you'll pop a stitch! And if that happens I will confine you to the infirmary until the stitches come out! Is that understood."

"Yes ma'am." Wildwing rolled his eyes.

"Don't you roll you're eyes at me!" Tanya warned then turned on Jessica when the woman started sniggering, "And don't think I didn't see you on the ice last night!" Jessica went bright red at being caught in the act.

"Well, my legs aren't injured, and I only have some bruising and some stiches on my forehead so…" Jessica tried to defend herself.

"Your left arm is broken; your right knuckles are c… cracked, and you have severe bruising to the face!" Tanya snapped, "Your brother and I agree that you should be r… res… taking it easy, and I am only condoning this because it will make you more comfortable here." Tanya sighed, "Guys listen. I don't mean to nag, but you both could have been killed, and I don't want something st… stupid to set you back."

"We'll behave." Jessica smiled, a little touched at the woman's concern, "You know, I'm starving! Who's up for something to eat."

"We could order in." Wildwing shrugged.

"I want pizza!" The trio jumped at the sudden outburst from the child behind them that they had thought was asleep.

"Want huh?" Jessica raised a brow at her daughter barely missing a beat.

"Sorry mom." Molly blushed, "Please can we have pizza?"

"I'm beginning to think Pizza is the go too choice." Wildwing chuckled, "I'll call the guys and find out what everyone wants." Wildwing left the room.

"I'm sorry Jessica." Tanya said after Wildwing had left. Jessica turned to her friend with a questioning look.

"For what?!"

"Well, the security was pretty basic. I didn't think you'd need anything else." Tanya said sadly, "But when I checked it, the guy who'd attacked you had bypassed it all. I discussed it with Cleghorn and he agrees that whoever it was knew what he was doing."

"He mentioned Eric." Jessica said staring at her late husband's picture. "Said something about how I was part of a score he had to settle. That it was me first then Molly. Once we were gone his score would be settled." She clenched her fists, "Cleghorn mentioned that the Housers were found murdered in the house opposite too. They think that it's possible that the guy who attacked me had killed them for a base to spy on me for the best moment to strike."

"Have you told Cleghorn this?" Tanya asked. "About the nut job mentioning your husband I mean?"

"When he questioned me, yes."

"And Wildwing?" Tanya pushed the fellow blonde.

"I don't want to worry him any more than he already is." Jessica admitted then looked at Tanya, "Is he always so protective?"

"Only with his brother." Tanya shrugged.

"He seems to have a soft spot for you though." Duke told her with a wink. Jessica wasn't sure what to think about his comment but felt her cheeks warm.

"Mom," Jessica looked down at her daughter who was now tugging at her mother's sweater sleeve, "Can I go find Wildwing and wait for the pizza?"

"We'd better go with you," Tanya knelt down to Molly's level, "it's pretty easy to get lost down here."

"OK." Molly took Tanya's hand and began dragging the woman towards the door, with Duke close behind. Jessica laughed at the sight. She took one last glance at the picture of Eric.

"I wonder if your father knows what this is all about." She muttered out loud and made a mental note to call her father in law when she had a few moments alone.

Jessica blinked as two boxes were thrust into her arms by the Flashblade brothers. Both were wrapped in patterned paper with a ribbon. One had teal and the other had a royal blue ribbon tied securely around the packages.

"Happy birthday!" the brothers said in unison.

"What… Why... When..?" Jessica stuttered as she was steered to the nearby seating area in the rec room.

"Before all that scary shit went down." Nosedive said cheerfully earning slap upside the head for his language. "Hey, I'm over 18 now! I am aloud to cuss!"

"Not in front of me you're not baby bro." Wildwing grinned at his baby brother as if willing the younger Flashblade to challenge him on the point.

"Whatever." Nosedive rolled his eyes in annoyance and turned back to Jessica. "Open that one first!" Dive said eagerly indicating to the one with the teal ribbon. Jessica shook her head in amusement and placed the boxes down before separating the box from the other and opening it to find a brand-new pair of hockey skates with teal laces and the ducks' logo printed on them and spaced out along the string.

"What...?" Jessica tried to say something, but Nosedive waved her off.

"They're from me, but you can't say anything till you've opened Wing's gift too!" The blonde declared eagerly. Jessica looked at Wildwing curiously and the white mallard was avoiding her gaze. He also had a faint blush across his cheeks. She opened the second box to find a very expensive looking pair of white leather figure skates. The leather was embossed with what looked like stars and flowers. Unlike the skates from Nosedive, these skates had plain white laces that kept the skates looking very demure and ornate.

"Guys I…" Jessica felt a little overwhelmed, "These must have cost a fortune. I can't…I mean they're amazing but... it's too much!" Jessica made to push them away, but Nosedive draped an arm around her shoulders.

"Jess, we're loaded!" Nosedive sniggered at his brother's groan at his words, "And Alex was the one who said you haven't had a new pair of skates in way too long."

"You look so comfortable on the ice." Wildwing said quietly as his blush grew, "Those skates you've been using look pretty old and you could injure yourself with how busted up they are." He looked at her earnestly, "I don't want you hurt again. Not when it's so easy to prevent." It was Jessica's turn to blush. He had said it so honestly and she couldn't turn away from his eyes. His light blue eyes shone with something. She wasn't sure what it was, but she wanted to find out.

"You'd better not be thinking of using those before I give you the all clear." Tanya said as she entered the room and saw the skates, not realising the moment she was interrupting. Both Wildwing and Jessica snapped out of their momentary trance and Jessica turned to Tanya.

"Not even just a little skate to try them out?" The blonde human asked earning a glare. "Fine!" She huffed like a teen, "I will put them in my room and not use them until you let me." Jessica was more embarrassed about her reaction to Wildwing's earlier words than angry at Tanya, but the scientist was an easy target to direct her anger at. It made her instantly guilty and the woman made a mental note to apologise to her later. For now, she picked up her new skates in their boxes and made to leave.

"Let me help you with that." Wildwing said taking them from her. The pair left the room, leaving Nosedive to glare at Tanya.

"What?!" Tanya asked after a few moments.

"They were having a moment!" Dive emphasised the final word with air quotes, "And you go and ruin it before anything can happen!"

"I'm more interested in keeping her healthy than her relationship with your brother right now, Nosedive." Tanya shook her head in annoyance at the scolding from the younger duck.

"Seriously Tauny!" Dive exclaimed, "I thought they were gonna kiss or something!"

"Really?" Tanya blinked and looked behind her at the door the couple had left through.

"Really." Nosedive grinned before starting to leave himself, "Later Tauny, I'm gonna go give Thrash and Mook the goss." He winked before disappearing through another door.

Wildwing snuck through the halls of the pond, his side was feeling much better and he was bored of 'taking it easy'. He stopped in his tracks when he heard someone else, then sighed a breath of relief when it turned out to be Jessica.

"What are you up to?" She asked suspiciously.

"I could ask you the same thing." He replied.

"Well, I…" Jessica tried to think of a reason she was heading down the hall that lead to the mighty ducks' gym. She looked back down the hall then smirked, "I won't tell if you won't." Her smirk grew into a grin. "I just need to do some exercise. I'm not good at sitting around for days on end."

"Tell me about it." Wildwing chuckled. "OK. Deal." He held out a hand indicating for her to go first.

"So, I reckon we have maybe an hour or so before anyone starts getting up." Jessica said to him.

"Sounds about right." Wildwing shrugged, "But we'd better make sure we're back to our rooms by the end of the hour, so we don't arouse suspicion."

"Why Wildwing." Jessica said in a teasing tone, "How thoroughly devious of you. And here I thought you were so straight and narrow."

"Hey, I've bent a few rules here and there." Wildwing replied with a smirk.

"Sure, you have." Jessica laughed picturing Wildwing as a bad boy and getting a bizarre image of a goth style of the white mallard.

"What's so funny?" Wildwing asked as they entered the gym and he started a few stretches to loosen up after a couple of weeks of limited activity.

"Just picturing you as a bad boy." Jessica smirked doing her own stretches, "Let's just say my mind is giving me a hilarious sight!"

"I am not that much of a goody two shoes you know." Wildwing objected as he picked up a few weights and tested his side with them. It pulled on his right side but the weight in his left arm didn't affect his wound.

"Admit it, Wing, you are a bit of a boy scout." Jessica laughed as she turned on the running machine. Her arm was still in a cast so anything that involved lifting was out. She stuck to a jog and avoided sprinting. "But I like boy scouts so it's all good." She winked at him earning a blush.

"I've been meaning to ask," Wildwing lay down on the weight bench and began lifting the barbell, "Your knuckles. How did he break them?" Jessica stopped the machine and walked over to act as his spotter with the weights.

"He didn't, if that's what you're thinking." She shrugged, "At least not exactly."

"What do you mean?" Wildwing asked.

"I fought back." She shrugged, "I'm not the type to just roll over and let someone attack me. I got in a few hits but then I swung, and I missed. Hit the wall hard and heard a crack. That was in the kitchen. I managed to get him with a south paw then I bolted upstairs. Had I been thinking straight I would have gone outside but I guess I was worried that Molly might still be out there."

"You can fight?" Wildwing stopped and replaced the weights on the stand above him. He carefully sat up and rubbed his injured side.

"A little boxing, and are you ok?" Jessica asked with a worried shine in her eyes.

"I'm fine." He smiled at her, "Who taught you to box?"

"My father." Jessica smiled at the memory, "He said 'no little girl of mine is gonna be pushed around by any sleezeballs'." She had deepened her voice when quoting her father, "He only taught me enough to hold my own against your standard thugs. Nothing fancy. Just some foot work and how to throw a punch that hurts."

"Sounds like your father was a sensible guy." Wildwing smiled. "You know, I could always help you with some moves. I mean, I'm no expert, but Mallory has taught us a few things. And I'm sure Mallory would show you a few moves too."

"What do you two think you are doing!" The pair jumped out of their skin at the angry voice. They turned to see Tanya, Canard and Mallory stood in the doorway of the gym. The latter two looked more than a little amused.

"Tanya!" Jessica glanced at her watch, "You're up early." Jessica said knowing exactly how lame she sounded at that moment.

"You two are supposed to be resting!" Tanya snapped. "You still look like you're an RTA victim," Tanya pointed at Jessica then turned on the other victim of her wrath, "And you! You have popped your stiches three times in the last week! If you've popped them again I swear I will be sedating, you until they come out!" By this time Canard and Mallory were trying everything they could to stop from laughing at the pair.

"But Tanya, I…" Wildwing started.

"No excuses!" Tanya snapped and pointed to the doorway, "Both of you! To the infirmary. Now!" Jessica and Wildwing looked at each other before leaving the room.

"Geez, I haven't felt like this since high school." Jessica muttered sarcastically.

"Less of the back chat." Tanya all but growled.

Wildwing noted that Mallory and Canard had stayed behind in the gym, he could even hear them laughing and was sure the pair were planning to spar. He really wished he could join them instead of having to put up with Tanya's temper. They were soon at the infirmary and found Alex sat at one of the terminals studying the computer there.

"Seriously Jess," He shook his head without even looking up, "I know you've never been the best patient, but can't you be like normal people and just watch TV when you're injured?"

"This is me we're talking about, little brother." She smirked knowing her remark would rile him up. "Since when have I ever been normal."

"Good point, and for the last time," he looked up at her at last, "I am three minutes younger! Three minutes! We are twins! I am not your younger brother."

"Sure, you are!" Jessica revelled in annoying her brother right after he'd scolded her, "By a whole three minutes!" She batted her eyes at her brother innocently.

"You're such a brat." Alex said as he walked over to help Tanya check over the pair.

"You two are worse than Wildwing and Nosedive." Tanya laughed despite herself then spotted small flecks of blood on Wildwing's dressings, "You have! You've popped another damn stitch!"

"I have?" Wildwing twisted his body slightly to look at his wound to see a tiny trickle of blood oozing out of his wound and one of the stiches was clearly no longer holding the top part of the wound together any more.

"Well I'm fine so.." Jessica started.

"Sit." Alex said sternly to his sister, "I have to go to work soon and I will be leaving Mary in charge of you." He looked at Wildwing, "Both of you."

"What, am I three?!" Jessica grumbled.

"You're certainly acting like it." Tanya muttered angrily as she swiftly cleaned, re-stitched and redressed the wound in Wildwing's side.

"You might be happy to cross me and the ducks, but I know you aren't fool enough to piss Mary off." Alex grinned. "And Wildwing is too nice a guy to piss her off."

"Whatever." Jessica pouted and crossed her arms in a defensive manner. Wildwing smirked at her behaviour.

"Well I will give you two one thing." Tanya said when she was done, "You two are certainly made for each other!" Tanya revelled in the embarrassment she caused, although she secretly found it cute too.

"You guys have a game tonight, don't you?" Alex asked Tanya.

"Yeah, it's a sell out too." Tanya told him.

"I'll get a taxi to work then." Alex said.

"I still don't know why you don't just use our vehicle entrance." The team tech shook her head.

"I have to be able to leave quickly." Alex shrugged. "That tunnel comes out on the outskirts of town. It would take longer to get to work in an emergency."

"Ugh look at the time!" Tanya exclaimed, "And here I thought I might actually be able to enjoy some breakfast before practice for once!" She turned on the two patients, "If I find either of you doing anything more than walking around I swear, I will strap you to your beds! Is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am." Both Jessica and Wildwing said in unison, both feeling like scolded children.

"I'd better go too." Alex said getting to his feet, "I have a few things to do before work."

"You have your wrist com, right?" Tanya asked him.

"Sure do." Alex replied holding his hand up to show her, for good measure, "Although I'm pretty sure that wacko isn't going to come after me you know."

"You can't be too sure." Wildwing pointed out.

"You always did attract trouble sis." Alex rolled his eyes but there was no bitterness in his tone.

"I don't even know who the guy is!" Jessica protested.

"Ten to one, it's some guy you turned down in high school!" Alex teased his twin.

"Not much of a dater in high school huh?" Wildwing smirked at her.

"Hah! She was too interested in racing cars and had her heart was set on the school heart throb." Alex smiled evilly at his sister who was glaring daggers at him, "In fact she dated so little in high school there was a rumour going around that she was gay! Although," he added with a thoughtful look on his face, "You and Charlene were pretty close. Something you never told me sis?"

"I am not attracted to women." Jessica deadpanned, "And besides, so what if I was?"

"I'd be pawning off some of my friends on you who think you're hot!" Alex winked.

"Looser." Jessica scoffed and pouted whilst crossing her arms in annoyance.

"Space case." Alex smirked.

"Weren't you leaving?" Jessica pointed out, clearly steamed at her brother.

"Remember, you can't beat me up or chase me." Alex winked taking a step backwards towards the door, "Tanya's orders, you should be resting." Jessica growled and picked up the closest thing to her, which was a measuring jar. She threw it at her brother. Alex dodged and walked off laughing.

"Like I said," Tanya shook her head in disbelief as she picked up the shattered pieces of the measuring jar carefully and placed them in the trash, "you two are worse than Wing and Dive." With that Tanya also left the infirmary.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Wildwing asked her and received a smile.

"Well if I can't work out I may as well watch someone else do something energetic." Jessica laughed.

"So, an action flick?" Wildwing got to his feet and held out his hand to her.

"Sure." She smiled back at him, "Although I had probably get Molly up and ready first."

"Maybe we should watch something she can watch too?" Wildwing offered.

"Oh please, she's doesn't think I know but she normally sneaks downstairs to watch movies from behind the sofa at home." Jessica shrugged, "I rarely watch anything too gory or horrific, so I usually just pretend I don't know she's there." Jessica went to make her way to her room when Wildwing stopped her.

"Your brother said something about racing cars." He asked curiously, "What did he mean?"

"Just that." Jessica shrugged, "My best friend Charlene Davidson, Charlie for short was, and still is the best mechanic in Shy Town. She and I would do up an old wreck no one wanted then enter street races to earn money to pay for things we wanted. It's how she could afford her garage in Chicago."

"Aren't street races illegal?" Wildwing raised a brow. Jessica smiled and moved closer to him until she was able to whisper into his ear.

"I won't tell if you won't." She said seductively. "I still haven't thanked you properly for those beautiful skates you bought me yet have I?" She winked then pulled away as quickly as she had approached him. She walked down the corridor and out of sight. Wildwing swallowed hard and willed his body to calm down.

"Looks like it's getting a little steamy between you two love birds, huh Wildwing." Duke chuckled when the white mallard almost jumped out of his feathers.

"I…I don't know what you mean!" Wildwing stammered. "And how many more time do I have to ask you to stop sneaking up on me like that!"

"Oh please, I know you asked her out. Tanya told everybody! Except maybe Nosedive, I think she left that to you." Duke informed him, "So you actually taken her out yet or…"

"With everything that's happened I wasn't sure if it was really a good idea." Wildwing admitted to the older duck.

"Well, she certainly seems to like you like that, if that little display is anything to go by." Duke smirked. "And you sure as hell like her."

"She's certainly quite a woman." Wildwing admitted. "You know, she fought back."

"That how she cracked her knuckles?" Duke asked and received a nod. "Thought as much. She's definitely a spit fire all right." Duke smiled then looked at Wildwing, "Word of advice kid, if ya like her that much, don't let her get away. I know from experience you'll never forgive yourself if ya do."

"Don't you think it would be unfair on her to date an alien? Not to mention the danger I would put her in just by being romantically involved with her?" Wildwing asked. "I mean, what if this guy is after her because of us?"

"You ask me, she's already in danger and from what Jessica has told us about that night I don't think it has anything to do with us." Duke shrugged, "If that's the case, and if you weren't in the picture she and Molly might just be dead by now. Way I see it, you're the reason that woman and her kid are alive and kicking today. So, don't look a gift horse in the mouth and go for it." The ex-thief winked at Wildwing before heading to the elevator to presumably prepare for practice.

"Yeah." Wildwing smiled and looked in the direction that Jessica had gone, "Maybe I will."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

"Good luck guys." Wildwing said to his team as they entered the rink for their game. Out of the corner of his eye, Wildwing noticed the new janitor sweeping up some rubbish, but he paid the old man no mind. His team nodded to him as they skated off to begin their game. Canard was playing the role of goalie whilst he was healing, which meant his friend and Nosedive no longer had to share their position. Canard wasn't too keen on letting Nosedive on the ice as often as Wildwing would have liked and the fans had noticed that too, if social media was anything to go buy. Wildwing felt something poke into the small of his back and he tensed.

"Don't make any sudden moves." Wildwing glanced back to see the janitor behind him and in his hand, was a small pistol. "And don't try playing hero freak. I've rigged this whole place to blow at the press of a button, among other things." The janitor added quickly. Wildwing tried to remember what Phil had said the man's name was. He knew that the old man hadn't been on the payroll for more than a month and he was sure Phil had told him his name, but he couldn't place it. "Start moving freak." The man's free hand steered him away from the rink whilst the pistol was pushed into his back harder to emphasis his intent. Wildwing was led to the upper levels where the janitor tied his hands behind his back with a long length of rope that had been prepared and wrapped the same rope around his upper body several times before fastening it. Wildwing was then led along the gangway until they were above the rink. Wildwing stayed silent as the janitor tied the end of the rope to the railings of the gangway and went back to several items that had been left by the door. After the janitor had fiddled with something in a bag the commentator's voice crackled out and all went silent. It didn't take long for the crowd and the players to sense something was wrong. There was a nervous murmur as everyone listened for the commentator and the players came to a stop, but instead the janitor began talking into a radio device.

"Ladies and gentlemen." He began, "There is every reason to panic. However, if you do, and if any one of you try to leave this building then this whole place will go up like the fourth of July." The murmur grew panicked, but people stayed where they were. Canard skated around the rink looking for the source of the voice, his teammates also scanning the stands and the upper levels.

"Who are you?!" Canard bellowed at the top of his lungs, "And what do you want?!"

"I'll come to that, but just so you freaks behave and don't try to get clever," The janitor stepped forward. "You might want to draw your attention towards the ceiling." The janitor then grinned wildly at Wildwing before kicking him hard. Wildwing grunted then cried out as he lost his balance and toppled over the railings. Several members of the audience screamed as Wildwing fell. He came to an abrupt stop as the rope went taught. Wildwing grunted in pain as he felt a couple of his ribs crack.

"Wildwing!" Nosedive cried out to his brother.

"I see any one of you freaks leave the ice, I cut the rope and this duck is pancake." The Janitor laughed.

"What do you want?!" Canard demanded again, doing his best to ignore the imminent danger his best friend was in.

"I want Jessica Fury." The Janitor stated and Wildwing felt sick as he put two and two together.

"You! You're the one who attacked her aren't you?" Wildwing tried to twist his body so he could look at the psycho holding him hostage but wasn't doing very well. He winced as the wound in his side pulled.

"And you're the hero who stepped in to stop me." He spat back. "But this time you won't get in my way!"

"You can't have her!" Wildwing struggled against his bonds, doing his best to ignore the pain in his ribs and the twinge in his barely healed knife wound.

"I don't think you're in a position to argue freak!" The janitor snapped. "I know she's here somewhere. She's probably watching the game from somewhere in or under this building. Am I right?" No one answered him, but the old man didn't expect them to. "If she isn't here within the next half hour I am going to blow this whole place up anyway. And every one of us will die. All for the life of one widow and her brat."

 _Meanwhile, below the rink:_

"What do you think you are doing?" Mary asked as she waddled after Jessica who was making her way over to where she knew the weaponry was stored.

"Trying to find the button that reveals the guns." Jessica told her sister in law as she felt along the wall for the button that would open the cabinet.

"Mom?" Molly asked from the sofa, clearly upset and scared.

"Yes baby." Jessica said as she found the button she wanted and pressed it to reveal a multitude of different guns and she intended to borrow one of the blasters to end this nightmare, once and for all.

"Is that bad man going to hurt Wildwing again?" Molly asked sadly, "Is Wildwing going to go away like daddy did?" Jessica tensed.

"No baby, not if your mommy can help it." She had been scared the first time. But now she was more than steamed. She was pissed off. This man, whoever he was, had attacked her at her home, terrified her child, injured someone she cared very much about and was now threatening them again. Them and the thousands of fans within the stadium seats above. She wouldn't allow it, and as scared as she was, she knew the ducks would do the same for her, so she was going to suck it up and try and do something about the monster holding everyone hostage.

"Are you nuts?!" Mary asked as Jessica took off the safety on the gun she had selected, and mock aimed at the wall. "You'll be killed!"

"I don't intend to give him that chance." Jessica replied, "Mary, call Alex and tell him that under no circumstances is he to enter the pond until we know the explosives have been diffused. And I don't want either of you to go upstairs at any point. Got it?"

"I can't just let you…" Mary protested looking flustered, "I mean… you've still got a cast on!"

"Then let's hope I can shoot with my left as well as I can with my right." Jessica stuffed the gun into the back of her pants and stalked off towards the elevator. Mary moved to protest one more time but seemed to think better of it. She instead walked over to Molly.

"We're watching something else." Mary declared, she wasn't about to let the little girl watch her mother potentially get herself killed. Mary took the remote and turned the television over to one of the cartoon channels.

"Will mom be ok?" Molly asked.

"I'm sure she will honey." Mary lied. "Lord knows she's crazy enough to pull this off."

Jessica made her way to the upper levels. And paused before the door that would lead her to where Wildwing was being held captive, high above the spectators and the two teams. She took a steadying breath and felt for the gun in her belt. She had asked Mallory to show her how to use their puck blasters, and she was incredibly glad of that now.

"Come on Jess." She muttered to herself quietly, "You pulled off death defying stunts when you raced. This isn't that much different." She lied to herself. But she grabbed the handle and swung the door open. She lifted her chin in defiance and marched towards the old man holding her friend hostage.

"Jess?!" Wildwing felt the colour drain from his face, "What are you doing?! Get out of here!" He struggled desperately to get at least an arm free to try and to pull himself back up to the gangway. From below he could hear his team also shouting for Jessica to run, while the audience was painfully quiet.

"Good girl." The Janitor smiled as the woman moved closer to him. Jessica stopped a few paces away from him.

"What do you want?" Jessica asked defiantly.

"Isn't it obvious? I want you and your brat dead!" He replied to her.

"Why?"

"Because I want to take everything away from him!" The janitor declared with a mad glint in his eye, "Just like he took everything away from me!"

"What are you talking about?" Jessica edged her way to the left so that the janitor couldn't take a shot at the rope keeping Wildwing from falling to his death.

"I already paid someone to take out his son." The crazed man explained, "I had to be patient to take you too. But all my careful planning was ruined by that freak you're trying to protect. But I don't really care so long as you die. Of course, I will have to find the brat too."

"You killed Eric?" Jessica almost scared herself with the furious calm that had washed over her the moment he had mentioned a son. She now knew who this was about. "This has nothing to do with me, or my daughter. Does it?"

"Of course not!" he laughed at her, "Lionel will pay for what he did to me!"

"And what could he have possibly have done to warrant all this?" Jessica asked now between the janitor and Wildwing.

"He took my life from me!" The man bellowed, "I was the best black ops there was! But one little mistake. A few civilians offed, and I lost everything. My career, then my family! So, I decided I would do the same to him! First, I called in a favour and had Lionel's precious son killed whilst on a mission. I couldn't risk going after you and the brat straight away, or I risked raising suspicion. So, I bided my time and eventually it was safe to begin stalking you to find the best moment to take you and the granddaughter from Lionel too." During his monolog he had moved so close to Jessica that they were now face to face. It took every bit of control she had to stay calm and merely lean back. She could still hear various members of the ducks yelling at her to run but she paid them no mind. This man had arranged to have her husband killed. Had taken Molly's father from her before she was even born. She had to give birth without the support of Eric and she was damned if she was going to let the monster before her see how terrified of the situation she was.

"Please! No!" Wildwing yelled desperately, still trying to break free, "Please! Don't hurt her!"

"But enough of my life story." The janitor said, "Time for you to take a long nap." The man threw his head back and laughed maniacally. Jessica took the opportunity to reach for the gun stored behind her back. She held it up to his chest.

"You first." She said before pulling the trigger. The blaster went off and the janitor was covered in blue electricity as the stun puck hit him. But it wasn't enough. The maniac was still conscious and was getting to his feet. His leg flew out and kicked the blaster out of her hand. Jessica knew she had to act fast if she was going to survive. As he got up she swung her fist as hard as she could, utilising everything her father had taught her about putting power into a punch. The janitor stumbled backwards and lost his balance. He fell over the opposite side of the gangway's railings. The audience screamed in unison. She ran forward to see what had happened to the man, who was now lying unconscious on the top of the jumbotron. The audience cheered their appreciation for her actions.

"Jess? Jessica?!" Wildwing yelled over the crowd, "Are you ok?" He tried to twist his body to see her, but nothing helped, and he couldn't twist far enough, "Please, answer me!" From the other side of the gangway, Jessica blinked and ran back so Wildwing could see her.

"Are you ok?" She asked, ignoring his previous question.

"Are you insane?!" Canard bellowed as the rest of the mighty ducks arrived to help. Jessica turned to him with both brows raised. "What the hell do you think you were doing?!"

"Doing something about that nut bag!" Jessica bit back.

"You could have been killed!" Canard growled as he helped Grin pull Wildwing up and put him safely onto his feet.

"You ok bro?" Nosedive asked launching himself at his brother as soon as the older mallard had been freed from his bonds. Wildwing hugged his brother back and watched the altercation between his best friend and Jessica warily.

"I'm fine baby brother." Wildwing assured the younger Flashblade

"Well it's not like you guys could have done anything! He said that he'd blow this place if even one of you left the ice!" Jessica pointed out.

"We would have figured something out!" Canard growled.

"Before or after he triggered the explosives?" Jess stuck out her chin. "Or maybe you were going to wait until Wildwing fell?"

"How did you know how to use our weaponry anyway?" Duke enquired curiously.

"That may have been my fault." Mallory raised her hand and cringed when Canard turned his furious gaze on her, "Hey, I thought it would be a good idea for her to know how! I thought it would come in handy in an emergency!"

"Well this was certainly an emergency." Duke chuckled. "I didn't think you had it in you, spit fire!"

"Guys." The ducks answered their com units to Tanya who had been busy locating and defusing the explosives. "I think I've found all of them. They were relatively easy to defuse but there was enough of them to take the whole building out and some of our headquarters! I'm just working on the last one."

"Is it safe for the public to leave" Wildwing asked.

"Provided they all leave by the south entrance." Tanya advised, "I'm nearly done here but I don't want to risk it you know."

Canard picked up the radio device that the janitor had been using and turned it on.

"Ladies and gentleman," he called into it, "Please can we ask that you leave calmly out the south entrance." The crowds began filing out as he asked, still talking in hushed voices. "Let's get that nut job off the jumbotron and down to the authorities." Canard ordered his team, "No doubt someone has contacted the police by now." Wildwing extracted himself from his little brother's tight grip and gingerly walked over to Jessica.

"You didn't answer me." He said quietly to her with one hand on her upper right arm, "Are you ok?"

"Ask me that when my heart stops trying to break out of my rib cage." She replied just as quietly with a nervous laugh. She leaned back and against Wildwing's strong chest for comfort and Wildwing rubbed her arm.

"Let's get you downstairs." He said gently, "Cleghorn will probably want to talk you again." He gently steered her away from his team and towards the elevator. He was aware of his brother following them, but the rest of the team stayed to assist with their attacker. By the time they got downstairs there was a large number of police and various reporters outside. Questions were flung at them but Wildwing simply replied with 'no comment' and led Jessica towards the short red headed police captain. Talking to him was a familiar face. It was the general that he had spoken to when they had rescued the military train shipment.

"Lionel?" Jessica asked. Wildwing looked at her in surprise.

"Jessica." General Montgomery turned to face his daughter in law. "I'm glad you're all right. Is Molly with you?"

"She's underground, where she's safe." Jessica told him suspiciously. She studied him and added before the man replied, "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?" Lionel asked, "My daughter in law and granddaughter were in danger. I came as soon as I saw the broadcast."

"No, you're based on the other side of the country." The blonde woman pulled away from Wildwing's grip. Wildwing and his brother looked at each other, a little confused at what was upsetting Jessica. "You wouldn't have been able to get here in the limited amount of time you had." She paused to glare at him, "You knew, didn't you?!" She accused furiously. "You were already in Anaheim because of him!"

"I had my suspicions." He admitted becoming colder in his demeanour.

"And you didn't think to maybe, I don't know, warn the mother of your grandchild?!" Jessica's voice raised.

"I am well aware of what your new friends were capable of and was quite sure that your safety was assured by your association with them." He replied.

"So not only did you not let me know that I and my daughter were in danger, you were happy to let the ducks endanger themselves to protect us?!" She exclaimed.

"I would not have trusted you with them had I thought that they wouldn't do what was needed to be done to keep the pair of you safe." He explained, "I needed to draw Zachery out. We knew of his involvement in Eric's death. But nothing could be proven. Now we have that proo…" He was caught off guard by her punch. Jessica stood over her father in law as every inch of her 6-foot frame oozed with fury.

"Don't you ever come near me or my daughter again!" She spat. Jessica spun around and stalked back into the building. She glared at any reporter that dared ask her a question and made her way back downstairs. She was in desperate need of a hug with her daughter.

"Low man." Nosedive shook his head at the general.

"At least I have justice for my son." Lionel got to his feet and rubbed his chin. "Eric always said she punched like a bullet train."

"I'm glad you got justice for your son's death." Wildwing said through gritted teeth, "But there had to have been another way. There is no excuse for putting either of them in danger like that. And I'm pretty sure your late son would feel the same way." Wildwing glared at the man and then stalked after Jessica, Nosedive hot on his heels.

"Wildwing." Lionel called after him, waiting until he stopped, "Eric would have liked you." The white feathered mallard wasn't sure how to respond as the general got to his feet and brushed himself off, "Take care of them. They need someone other than Alex to watch out for them." With that Lionel walked out of sight leaving Dive and Wing to look at each other again and finally rush after Jessica to make sure she was okay.

Cleghorn did speak to Jessica in the end, but it was done in the safety of the ducks' headquarters. Alex had come back and chewed his sister out just as Canard had done. And when they were done Jessica excused herself and her daughter and left for their room. It had taken some time for Jessica to get Molly to sleep. She wasn't so lucky. She tossed and turned until around 3 in the morning. She finally gave up and went to go to the kitchen to try some of grin's camomile tea, but she found herself stopping outside Wildwing's door. She glanced at it sideways for a few moments and moved to knock. She stopped before she did and rested her forehead against the cool metal door. She could feel tears burning behind her eyelids. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. She had almost decided to carry on to the kitchen when the door opened with a swish and there stood a tired looking Wildwing in nothing but sweat pants. His irritated look turned to concern.

"Is something wrong?" He asked her. Jessica said nothing and merely stared down at her feet, suddenly embarrassed for bothering him. She closed her eyes and felt the first tears fall and threw herself at his chest. Wildwing was shocked at first but his arms soon wrapped around her and he held her tightly as she quietly sobbed into his shoulder. He stroked her hair, trying to calm her down whilst offering soothing words into her ear. She looked up at him and gently kissed the side of his beak. Then his neck. She heard him moan slightly as she sucked on his neck slightly. He lifted her chin and nussled her gently before leading her into his room and locking the door behind them.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

"You can't be serious?!" Jessica stared at principle Brown in utter shock.

"I am deadly serious. The board have taken a vote and we have decided to terminate your contract. Effective immediately." He adjusted his glasses as he barely hid the smirk on his face. Jessica's temper was threatening to blow, knowing full well that the nasty little man hadn't liked her from the start. Of course, it had been his predecessor who had hired her, and he had been trying to find a reason to get rid of her ever since he took over from Mr Jameson. He'd done the same for anyone whom the old principle had hired. But she had been too popular with the students and, as a whole, was well liked by the parents of the majority of said students.

"So, are you going to give a reason for suddenly firing me?" Jess enquired through gritted teeth.

"Well I would have thought that completely obvious." The man gave her a surprised look, which she knew was all for show given that he had even arranged for a member of the school security to be present.

"Enlighten me." She crossed her arms and glared at the man in front of her. "Cause, last I checked, all my kids get good grades and I have good class attendance amongst my students. If I didn't, I know damn well you would have got rid of me long before now."

"Well yes." He cleared his throat, glancing at the security guard as if making sure the man was ready for anything the woman before him might do. This just infuriated her further, she certainly wasn't going to get a record for punching this idiot. "The students are quite fond of you, it's true. However, the recent events in your private life have been brought into question."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Jessica asked counting to ten in her head.

"Crazed lunatics taking entire hockey stadiums hostage to kill you?" Principle Brown pointed out, "And now it seems the press think you are romantically involved with one of those alien hockey freaks."

"That lunatic was after my late husband's father, I just happened to be guilty by association." Jessica growled, "And as for who I am dating, that is none of yours or the board's business and it certainly doesn't have anything to do with my teaching ability! Plus you weren't calling them freaks when you wanted to use them to pull in the crowds for the funds raiser!"

"And who's to say the explosives set at the school that day weren't set by the man who was after you?" Brown pointed out, "The board and I have made our decision. You are to collect your belongings and leave the premises without any interaction with any of the children." He told her. "Failure to comply will result in my calling the police. Mr Evans here will be escorting you to the staff room and your class room to collect your belongings. You will then be escorted off the premises."

"And if any of the kids talk to me?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Then you may respond but only to inform them that you will no longer be teaching at this school." Principle Brown informed her. "Is that understood?"

"Perfectly." Jessica said turning her heel and storming out of the office with the Evans at her heel. She was thankful that it was recess, so most of the kids were nowhere near the staff room or her classroom. It wasn't until they reached the parking lot and the security guard stood to one side to ensure that she wouldn't try to go back in the school, that she put her box down to consider her options. She hadn't driven to work. Wildwing had dropped her off and was planning to pick her up. She pulled out her phone and looked at the time. He would still be at whatever publicity stunt Phil had arranged for them that day, she couldn't remember what it had been. Alex and Mary were currently shopping for the last baby things they would need before her nephew arrived. Molly didn't need picking up for several hours from her own school so she either had a long walk with a box full of odds and ends, or she could call a taxi and be done with it.

"Ms Fury?" Jessica looked around to see Cho looking incredibly upset. Corey was behind her looking from Cho to his now former teacher with a worried look on his face.

"Hey Cho." Jessica smiled at the mousy Asian girl.

"Are you really leaving?" She asked quietly.

"I'm afraid so." Jessica replied sadly.

"I think it's really unfair!" Corey said angrily, "It's not your fault that nut job went after you! And what's wrong with dating one of the mighty ducks?!"

"Funny, that's pretty much what I said." Jessica chuckled, touched that the pair were upset to see her go, "But it is what it is. You two promise me you'll look out for each other okay?"

"We will." Cho sniffed a few times before almost barrelling Jessica over with a bear hug.

"Hey, I don't see your car." Corey said. "How are you getting home?"

"I was just figuring that out." Jessica smiled at him.

"I could give you a lift in the van." Corey shrugged, "Cho and I have two free periods, so we got plenty of time."

"I can't ask you kids to do that." Jessica objected.

"We insist!" Cho said with a finality Jessica felt she couldn't refuse. Jessica looked towards the security guard who shrugged, clearly not as worried about her interacting with the students as much as the principle was.

"Well, all right, but I need your word you'll come straight back for your next class." She said sternly.

"Deal!" Corey replied as he pulled out his keys and walked over to his dark blue van. They piled inside, "So where to."

"Oh! Um, the pond." She blushed for some reason, but Corey started his engine and began the drive without comment. The drive was mostly filled with pleasant chit chat. Jessica learned that Cho and Corey were now dating. She was pleased for the pair. Cho was a timid girl but had a heart of gold and wanted nothing more than to make people happy. Corey was laid back and a sweet boy who stuck up for his friends. They would make a lovely pair and she really hoped they lasted.

Before long she was saying her goodbyes to Cho and Corey and waited long enough to see the van pull out of sight. She sighed and walked back into the pond. She made a bee line for her room where she stored her box and its contents in the closet. Then she made her way to the kitchen and pulled out one of the bottles of red wine she had picked up a few nights before. She sat on one of the stools and leant on the kitchen bar as she poured herself her first glass. She lost track of time after her third and that was where the ducks found her.

"Jess?" Wildwing had a look of confusion on his face at seeing her sitting there with a half empty class of wine. His eyes slipped to the wall clock and back to reassure himself that he wasn't going mad. She had her right elbow leant on the counter with her head in the same hand and she was watching her glass as she spun the wine inside around. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you at work?"

"Apparently my services are no longer needed." She said whilst still mesmerised by the liquid in her glass. She sniggered then laughed, "Asshole finally got rid of me!"

"You were fired?!" Duke asked.

"Got it in one old man." She was slurring slightly and Wildwing noted that there was one empty bottle of wine beside the one she was working on and she had drunk a fair bit out of the second as well. Duke chose to ignore the old man jibe given the situation and walked over to the woman where he took the half empty bottle she had yet to finish and put it back in the cupboard. "Hey! I hadn't finished that!" She said indignantly.

"Yeah, that's probably a good thing." Duke said disapprovingly.

"Charming," Canard shook his head and went to leave the room, "My best friend is dating a drunk." Wildwing shot his friend a scathing look but approached Jessica.

"Jess? Why were you fired?" He asked gently.

"Apparently the board thinks I'm too dangerous to have around the students." Jessica grumbled, "So not only did that old coot endanger me and my daughter, he's lost me my job too!" She didn't mention what was said about their relationship. She knew he would only blame himself and while she may have been drunk, she still had enough of her faculties to not allow that.

"But … I mean… they can't do that! Can they?" Tanya asked.

"They just did." Jessica said bitterly.

"I have to agree with Canard on this one," Mallory said in a disapproving tone, "Getting drunk isn't going to solve the problem." She shook her head and walked off.

"Well it makes me feel better right now." Jessica rolled her eyes, "Besides, as an adult I reserve the right to get drunk if I feel like it."

"Nosedive," Wildwing turned to his brother, "Do me a favour and pick Molly up from school later."

"Sure thing bro." Nosedive smiled. He gave Jess a sympathetic look before excusing himself and going off to do his own thing before he had to collect Molly.

"I will be perfectly fine by then." Jessica said indignantly.

"You are having some coffee." Wildwing shook his head but had to admit her somewhat childish behaviour was somewhat endearing.

"I do not need coffee." Jessica pouted. A steaming cup suddenly appeared beside her and she glared at Duke.

"Yes, you do." Duke smirked. She stuck her tongue out at the ex-thief, but took a sip of the coffee then made a face.

"Ugh, there's no sugar in it!" She exclaimed as if he'd done the unthinkable. Duke sniggered and put the sugar shaker next to her. "Thank you." She smiled sweetly at him before shaking some sugar into the beverage. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the others leaving to get on with whatever they had planned to do for the rest of the day. She sighed, "Sorry."

"For what?" Wildwing took a seat on the stool next to her.

"I should have handled this better." Jessica admitted knowing full well that she was making a fool of herself.

"Happens ta the best of us kid." Duke chuckled.

"I just got so angry!" Jess told them, feeling her anger stir again, "I mean he was enjoying it! That idiot man has been trying to get rid of me since he started! But to use this as the reason!"

"I'll speak to Phil." Wildwing told her, "He might know someone who could help."

"Forget it." Jessica sighed, "No matter what happens Brown will black list me in this town anyway." She groaned and rested her head on the counter, "If it doesn't rain it pours!"

"There's gotta be something we can do." Wildwing felt his heart breaking to see his new girlfriend so down.

"Well if there is, I don't know what." Jessica sighed and got to her feet, "I'm going to go take a nap." She looked at Wildwing. "Let me know if Dive has any trouble with Molly?"

"Of course." Wildwing said standing up and giving her a hug before she went. He and Duke watched her leave.

"You know," Duke turned to Wildwing, "She's gonna need ta do something for money. And I don't think she'd just let you pay all her bills." Duke smirked at Wildwing's reaction, knowing full well what Wildwing was thinking.

"Then what do you suggest." Wildwing asked as he rubbed the back of his neck and stared after Jessica who had already passed through the doorway leading to the living quarters.

"Well, Phil has been on at us for months about starting a junior team." Duke shrugged, "I know she used to play a bit of hockey so why not ask her if she wants to coach it. After all the only reason Canard keeps saying no is cause none of us have the time to dedicate to it. Plus, if she's any good herself she might make a good alternate when we've got injured." Duke added with a wink.

"You know, you might be onto something there." Wildwing replied rubbing his chin in thought. "I mean, I know Phil wanted one of us to do it, so we didn't have to pay anyone, but…"

"But if we're paying her a wage, she won't think you're just trying to pay her way for her." Duke replied with a wink.

"I'll talk to Canard and Phil about this tomorrow morning." Wildwing rubbed the back of his neck again.

"And tonight, when she's woken up, you can take your drop dead gorgeous girlfriend out for a nice evening meal and maybe a movie." Duke suggested. Wildwing smiled at the older mallard but made a mental note to take him up on his advice.

A purple limo pulled up outside of the Viper Industries tower in Chicago. A portly man exited the vehicle giving his deformed looking chauffer a dirty look before making his way inside. A well-dressed woman was waiting for him and nodded to him as he neared her. He followed the woman in silence as she led him to an elevator and they rode it to the top floor. When the doors opened with a small ding, the woman indicated that he should leave, and she stayed inside whilst he did just that. The doors soon closed behind him and he walked ahead towards a large office desk behind which Fineous Viper sat. The portly man known as Laurence Limburger took a seat before the fellow business man and the pair stared at each other for a few moments.

"It's a pleasure to meet you at last Mr Limburger." Viper smiled.

"I have no interest in small talk Viper." Limburger leant forward and glared at Viper, "I am a very busy man. Get to the point and tell me what it is that you want."

"What we want is to join forces." A voice from a dark corner of the room told him. Limburger looked at this dark corner carefully and noticed the eerie glow of eyes. The figure grinned wildly and stepped forward finally revealing himself. "I am Draganus and I intend to take over this planet and eventually, many more."

"I see." Limburger raised an eyebrow at the saurian overlord, "And what does this have to do with me?"

"As a plutarkian," Viper informed him, "you are here to steal earth's resources in order to supplement your own. Am I right?"

"You seem incredibly well informed." Limburger looked from Viper to Draganus and back again. He wasn't foolish enough to answer the question straight away.

"I have my resources and I like to know everything about those that I intend to go into business with." Viper shrugged. "I propose that we work together to take control of this planet." Viper continued, "With my resources, Draganus' expertise in warfare as well as the technology at yours and Dragnus' disposal it should be a much easier task."

"Aside from this measly planet's resources, what else do I get out of this bargain?" Limburger enquired.

"As my colleague has said, I assume you are attempting to strip this planet of its resources for a reason?" Draganus asked.

"You are aware of who I am then?" Limburger asked, the lizard before him grinned and Limburger removed his mask to reveal his Plutarkian features. Limburger cleared his throat, "My planet is considerably lacking these days and we must acquire resources from other planets to survive." He admitted. "We have successfully conquered many a planet in order to sustain our own. Sadly, the planets in this universe are more complicated to control than many others.

"Then, I will lend my expertise to you in order to take this poultry planet over and you may help yourself to all of it's resources." Draganus told him. "When I move on to other planets, I may even see fit to allow your people to help yourselves to the resources of any other planet I conquer. Provided this partnership is mutually beneficial of course."

"I will of course require time to consider this." Limburger sat back as he studied the human and the saurian. "This is of course more than I was suspecting."

"Of course." Viper said before Dragnus could interject.

"I will have my people call your people." Limburger got to his feet and pulled his mask back on.

"Don't take too long Limburger." Draganus almost growled, clearly not impressed that the deal wasn't sealed and settled then and there. Limburger gave the saurian a bored look and left.

"He will agree. As will any other of his kind here." Viper assured.

"I am still not sure why you would think we need him or their pathetic race." Draganus grumbled.

"Think about it Draganus." Viper smirked, "They have contacts throughout the galaxy. Right now, you have no way of accessing your forces in limbo. But Limburger potentially has an entire army at his disposal to assist us in gaining control of Earth. My sources also inform me that the Plutarkians have teleportation technology."

"Which means I may be able to use them in order to regain my own forces." Draganus first smiled and then laughed, "I like how you think viper."

Jessica groaned as her cell went off. She rolled over and ignored it to start with but after her phone beeped with four text messages she grabbed the offending device and looked at it. At the sight of the message, she sat up and threw the covers off her in an instant. She pulled on some sweat pants and grabbed a zip up hoodie. She grabbed her shoes and hoped a few times as she pulled them on, on the move before sprinting out of her room and down the hall.

"Woah!" Duke exclaimed as he tried to leave his room and nearly got barrelled over by a blonde streak, "Where's the fire kid?!"

"My sister in law's in labour!" She explained with excitement that could rival Nosedive, before disappearing around the corner. She glanced at her phone again to look at the time. Molly would just be getting let out of school at that moment, and Nosedive should be there to pick her up. She raced to her car and stopped. It had only been a couple of hours since she had been three sheets to the wind and her brain still felt a little hazy. She turned when she heard a motorcycle.

"Need a ride kid?" Duke asked passing her a helmet. Jessica smiled and got on behind him. He waited for her to pull on the helmet, "Where to sweetheart?"

"Other side of town. Hope Street hospital." Jessica replied and they were soon speeding off.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:**

Wildwing watched as Jessica cooed over her new nephew. Her brother was fussing over his wife and Molly was jumping up and down beside her mother excitedly asking to hold the new bundle of joy. Wildwing smiled at the scene before excusing himself to make a call.

"Canard, we might be a while." Wildwing admitted to his friend.

"So long as you don't start getting broody on us." Canard rolled his eyes but did at least have a teasing tone to his voice, "We have enough annoying kids hanging around the pond as it is."

"Hey I heard that!" Wildwing heard his brother exclaim from somewhere in the background. Wildwing chuckled at his brother who hadn't been too pleased when Canard had told the younger that he didn't need to go with Wildwing and Molly to the hospital.

"Just get back as soon as you can." Canard told him before signing off. Wildwing smiled and closed his com. When he re-entered the hospital room a small infant was thrust into his arms by Jessica with an evil look on her face. Wildwing froze for a moment but relaxed quickly and cradled the baby boy in his arms as he had done long ago for his brother. He had been much smaller back then and his father had needed to help him, but now he was grown and strong and the small child snuggled into him. He smiled down at the little boy then looked up at his mother.

"You named him yet?" He asked Mary, ignoring the surprised look Jessica gave him.

"My grandpa was called Tobias." Mary looked to Alex with a tired smile, "He brought me up when my folks flaked."

"So, we're going to call him Toby after Mary's gramps." Alex said proudly giving his wife a kiss and oblivious to the curious look his sister was giving Wildwing. At his admission though his sister turned to him.

"And that your favourite movie has a kid in it called Toby didn't help you with that decision?" Jessica smirked talking about the Movie the Labyrinth, that she also loved as a kid. She secretly still did, but for far different reasons to when she was growing up.

"Well," Mary looked at her husband with an amused look, "I did use that as persuasion when he wasn't too keen on the idea." There was a chuckle throughout the room just as Duke came in with a small tray full of warm drinks.

"Who's up for some coffee," he looked down to Molly, "and hot chocolate for you squirt."

"Awe, why does no one ever let me try coffee?" Molly pouted but accepted the hot chocolate anyway.

"Because you are energetic enough as it is, and coffee will only have you bouncing off the walls young lady." Jessica chuckled as she took one of the drinks. She noted a water bottle on the tray, which Duke passed to Mary. Her sister in law took it gratefully.

"Looking good with a kid there, Wildwing." Duke teased, earning himself a look from the aforementioned duck who walked over to Mary and gently passed the baby back to his mother.

"Congratulations Mary, you too Alex." He smiled at the new parents, "He's adorable."

"Thank you Wildwing." Mary Smiled then tried to stifle a yawn.

"We should probably leave you two alone for a while." Jessica piped up, "You must be exhausted Mary and I know he'll be due for a feed soon." She turned to the two ducks with them, "come on boys, let's let the happy couple have some alone time with Toby." She inclined her head to her daughter, "you too Molly."

"Okay." Moly said and began to walk after her mother. She seemed to have an afterthought before passing her drink to Duke and ran over to the bed. She climbed on and gave her new cousin a kiss on the forehead. "Bye Toby." She smiled then looked up at her aunt and uncle, "By Aunt Mary, Bye Uncle Alex."

"Bye sweet cheeks." Mary chuckled as the little blonde skipped off and left with the other adults.

"So, who's hungry?" Duke asked as they made their way to the parking lot.

"Me!" Molly squealed.

"You know we're already late for practice, right?" Wildwing raised a brow.

"And by the time we get there it will all be over," Duke shrugged, "so we may as well get something ta eat and make a night out of it."

"Well there's a nice little Chinese restaurant not far from here." Jessica suggested.

"Oooh! I want Chinese food!" Molly skipped over to Wildwing's car. She waited until Wildwing pressed the button on his key to open the doors. As soon as the doors were open she pulled open the door and scrambled in. Duke moved to his bike and pulled on his helmet.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Duke told them, "Why don't you lead the way beautiful."

"You're such a charmer." Jessica rolled her eyes and got into the passenger seat of Wing's truck. Wildwing gave Duke a withering look but didn't say anything about the flirtatious behaviour displayed by his teammate.

"Turn left when you get out of the parking lot then keep on that road for a while then its two rights and another left." Jess told Wildwing who started the engine and began driving. Jess reminded Wildwing of the directions at each turn and they were soon there. The restaurant was busy, but they didn't have to wait long until they were seated.

"Miss Fury!" a familiar voice called. Jessica smiled at her ex-student who passed them their menus.

"Hi Cho." Jessica smiled. "How's things?"

"Good." She smiled.

"Cho!" An older woman called then spoke to Cho in Chinese. Cho replied and turned back to them.

"Sorry we're really busy today." Cho bowed, "I'll come back and take your order in a few."

"Sure, thing pretty lady." Duke winked. Cho blushed and hurried off to take the orders of those who had been sat long enough to choose.

"So Wildwing, you decided what you're doing for Dive's 20th yet?" Duke asked piquing Jessica's attention.

"It's Dive's birthday soon?" Jess asked.

"Yeah." Wildwing admitted, "I was kind of leaving the party stuff up to Phil."

"Phil?!" Jessica exclaimed. "why on earth would you do a fool thing like that?" She had only bumped into the ducks' manager a few times but found him the most irritating man she'd ever come across. Since then, she had done everything in her power to avoid the portly man.

"Well, he's better at that sort of thing than I am and…" Wildwing tried to explain it off but it sounded lame even to him.

"Phil will just turn it into a publicity stunt!" Jessica sighed. "Why don't you let me organise something?"

"But…" Wildwing rubbed the back of his neck and looked to Duke for help.

"Don't look at me," the ex-thief raised his hands, "I'm with her. Phil organising anything for the kid is a bad idea. Just look at the time he forced them to buy suits." Duke paused and sniggered, "As fun as that was to see, I dread ta think what our loveable manager will put together for the kid."

"No alcohol." Wildwing groaned.

"Relax Wing, we won't make a criminal of your kid brother!" Duke exclaimed as he looked at Jessica with a wide grin.

"Exactly!" Jess agreed as she winked at Wildwing. The white mallard gave them a stern look. "Of course, those of legal age…." Jessica grinned maniacally.

"Something tells me I might regret this." Wildwing smiled and shook his head then stood up, "I'll have the vegetable fried rice."

"Where are you going?" Duke asked.

"Gotta use the bathroom." Wildwing explained with a shrug before making his way over to the men's room.

"You ever seen Wildwing drunk?" Jessica asked Duke with a curious look following her boyfriend.

"Nope." Duke admitted. "Be interesting ta see though." The older mallard added with a twinkle in his eye.

"That it would Duke." Jessica took a sip of her drink, "That it would."

"Mommy, can I have some spring rolls?" Molly asked hopefully with a smile.

"Sure sweetie." Jessica replied.

"Why didn't we call Wing and Duke on this?" Dive whispered as he and Canard snuck up behind a building where Drake One had detected several teleportation signals.

"Because they're busy." Canard rolled his eyes. They climbed in through an open window and hid behind some crates to spy on whatever it was the saurians were up to.

"Yeah, but…" Nosedive hissed.

"But nothing!" Canard snapped, "Look, I don't much like the idea of your brother dating a human. But that woman makes him happy. So, I'm letting him spend some time with her okay?"

"And why did you want me to come with you? Why not Mallory or something?" Dive asked curiously, genuinely surprised at Canard's admittance.

"Because if you get hurt, Wing will lose it." Canard admitted, "As much as you annoy me, I know how much Wing's family means to him and as far as I know, you're the only family he has left. So, I want you where I can keep an eye on you."

"Who are you and what did you do to Canard?" Nosedive almost wished he was joking but part of him was dead serious.

"You know, you act like I'm some kind of monster, but I've looked out for you just as much as Wing has." Canard hissed.

"You wanted to leave me behind in that hell hole of a camp!" Nosedive replied angrily, forgetting where they were. "Do you have any idea what it was like being a slave of the saurians? What Wing and me went through. He thinks I don't know what he did to protect me. But I do! I know everything! And I couldn't do anything to stop it!" Dive hadn't realised he had been shouting and Canard was so angry that he hadn't noticed either. Neither noticed the concussion grenade until it was too late, and the pair were thrown apart with the blast.

Nosedive saw stars but was soon on his feet, if a little unsteady. He pulled out his blaster and peered through the dust that had risen to try and figure out where to shoot.

"Bad luck ducky!" Dive yelped as he felt himself get picked up by his hair.

"Get off me creep!" Dive yelled trying to loosen Siege's grip on his blonde locks.

"Nosedive!" Canard yelled as he got to his feet and raised his gun.

"Just try it duck!" Siege said swinging Dive's body closer to his own and holding his blaster to Dive's temple. Nosedive yelped but gave no indication that he was worried, he wasn't about to give the saurian the satisfaction. "Drop the blaster!" Canard did as he was told and placed the gun on the floor in front of him then backed away with his hands raised.

"Hey, didn't we get rid of this one already?" Chameleon asked snatching the gun away and holding his own up to make sure Canard didn't get any funny ideas.

"Who cares!" Siege declared, "Now we get to waste him again!" Siege and Chameleon grinned at each other. "So where are the other losers, duck?"

"Like we'd tell you freaks!" Nosedive said bravely. Siege glared at the youngest mighty duck before slamming him down on the floor. The blonde yelped in pain as his head was slammed mercilessly into the concrete floor. He saw stars and his vision blurred but it wasn't enough to knock him out.

"You might not, but I'll bet we can get poster boy over there to tell us." Siege smirked at Canard who had tensed in anger.

"Sorry creep." Nosedive laughed weakly, "Canard and I, aren't exactly close." Canard did his best not to react to the young duck's comments no matter how much it hurt him to hear his best friends little brother say such a thing. Perhaps they didn't get along, but he didn't hate the kid entirely. Nosedive simply annoyed the hell out of him.

"Then I guess they'll be down another duck again huh." Siege laughed as he threw Nosedive into the air and swung his tail around. It hit Nosedive square in the abdomen and the younger was thrown heavily against the nearby wall. The wind was knocked out of him and it was all Dive could do to keep conscious, a few coughs resulted in specks of blood splattering on the floor.

"What do you want?!" Canard demanded. The leader scanned his fallen teammate to assess the injuries already caused. There was no way the kid was walking out of the building alone, so he needed to get the saurian lackeys to back off the younger long enough for the others to realise something had gone wrong and give him a hand.

"We want you and your buddies to take a long nap!" Chameleon rolled his eyes as if it should be obvious.

"So, finish us already!" Nosedive spat angrily.

"Not helping Nosedive." Canard growled through gritted teeth, not taking his eyes off his enemies. He wasn't about to let the younger drake get hurt if he could help it. At least not more than they had already hurt him. He only had to keep the saurians' attention distracted for a little bit longer. He knew his teammates close by would be coming soon. He could already feel his wrist com buzzing as the others tried to get hold of him. He was glad Tanya had created a silent option for the units. It meant his friends could take the saurians by surprise, whilst still keeping in contact with each other. As far as their enemies knew the others were elsewhere seeing to another issue.

"Nah, the brat's got a point!" Siege grinned, "And Killing Wildwing's little brother will sure put a dampener on Wildwing's day." Siege raised his weapon to Nosedive's temple once again.

"No!" Canard yelled as Siege moved his trigger finger. Nosedive closed his eyes and waited for the shot to happen. There was an instant where his mind wondered if it would hurt. The shot fired, and his body jumped involuntarily in fear, but he felt nothing, and he was still breathing. He opened his eyes and looked up to see a bola around Siege's wrist which had pulled the gun away from the blond drake just in time. Nosedive sighed in relief and jumped out of the way when Grin body checked the large saurian away from him. With that the saurians teleported away. Nosedive got unsteadily to his feet and nearly fell on his ass again if it weren't for Canard appearing at his side and pulling Nosedive's arm across his shoulders. "Stupid kid." The older mallard shook his head but held the younger close to ensure Nosedive wouldn't pass out and fall to the ground. He covertly scanned his best friend's kid brother to assess the injuries from the beating. There were some nasty knocks to the head and he was sure a rib or two might be broken with how the kid was holding himself. But to Nosedive's credit, the blonde wasn't crying out in pain or making a fuss. Something Canard knew he would have done before the invasion on Puckworld.

"You guys all right?" Mallory asked eyeing Nosedive with a hint of worry given he looked like he could pass out at any moment.

"We're all good girly girl!" Nosedive raised his arm but groaned at the movement. He grabbed his side where Siege had hit him with his spiked tail. "Bad move." He added with a mutter. He wobbled, and his knees nearly gave way, but Canard was ready and supported him.

"Let's get you back to the pond." Canard said beginning to help Nosedive back to the migrator, "Your brother is going to kill me." Nosedive sniggered. "Thanks for the support Nosedive."

"What, you're the one who wanted me with you." Nosedive smirked. "Some protector you are." He smirked at Canard but there was a joking tone to his voice. Canard rolled his eyes at the blonde.

"Yeah well, like I said," Canard sighed as he saw Tanya trotting over to them, "I wanted to keep an eye on you myself."

"Great job Canard." Tanya rolled her eyes having overheard the last part of their conversation.

"Hey, I knew you guys would be close behind." Canard defended.

"And what if we hadn't figured out you two were in trouble?" Tanya pointed out as she draped Nosedive's free arm around her own shoulders.

"Then I would have figured out something." Canard replied.

"Before or after Dive had his ass handed to him?!" Tanya growled.

"Guys!" The subject of their raised voices piped up, "I'm right here and while I am fine, I do kinda have a headache. So less of the shouting okay?" both older ducks muttered their apologies and the ducks made their way back to the Migrator in relative silence. Nosedive was helped into his seat and swatted their hands away as they even tried to strap him in. He strapped himself in and rolled his eyes as Tanya told Grin to keep him talking and make sure he didn't fall asleep before they got back to the pond and she could check him for a concussion. He'd had enough knocks to the head to recognise a concussion and he knew damn well he had one. But all he wanted to do was to get home and hide in his room before Wildwing could see him and completely flip.

Wildwing smiled as he watched Duke dance with Molly. They had finished their meal about an hour before and Cho had mentioned that here was a salsa party going on nearby. Molly had asked what salsa was and when she learned that it was dancing, she insisted on going to dance. They had got to the street party and Duke had been sequestered into being Molly's dance partner. The old thief had a big smile on his beak and Molly was having the time of her life. Jessica and Wildwing had been badgered into dancing together for a couple of dances but had excused themselves and sat down quite quickly. Wildwing had bought some drinks for the group and he and Jess were happily sipping away as they watched the oldest of the mighty ducks, dance with the small child.

"He's good with kids." Jessica said over the music.

"Yeah, didn't think he would like kids if I'm honest." Wildwing shook his head in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me?" Jess laughed, "You have noticed the way he treats you and Dive." She paused as if considering something, "Tanya too actually."

"What do you mean?" Wildwing took a sip of his drink and studied his girlfriend.

"Oh, come on!" Jessica laughed at his cluelessness. "Any idiot can see he treats the team like his family." She waited to see what Wildwing would say in response, but he merely looked confused, "Does he have any kids? His own I mean?"

"Honestly? I don't know." Wildwing looked at his teammate, "Aside from the occasional titbit relating to the brotherhood, he doesn't really talk about his past."

"You ever bring it up?" Jessica asked now watching Duke herself.

"Once or twice. But he always found a way to avoid the subject." Wildwing admitted.

"If he's avoiding the subject then maybe the memories are too painful." Jessica pondered out loud and made a mental note to file her thoughts for a later date when she could take it up with him in private.

"Oh, um, Duke had a good idea earlier today." Wildwing leaned closer to Jess so he didn't have to shout so loud. "Phil's been on our case for a while about starting a junior team. I was going to suggest you be hired as the new coach."

"Me?!" Jessica nearly choked on her drink. "Why me?" She looked at him.

"Because you're good at teaching and I know you can play hockey." Wildwing shrugged. "Plus, you need a job, right?"

"I haven't played real hockey since I was in high school." Jessica smirked at him.

"Doesn't mean you can't coach it, and Puckworld knows none of us have time to teach a bunch of kids to play." Wildwing told her, "It won't pay as much as your old job, but at least its something. Plus, I kinda figured maybe you could rent out your house for extra money too." Wildwing almost held his breath. He wasn't sure if she would be offended or grateful.

"So, you want to give me a job?" Jessica asked receiving a nod, "And you want me to rent out my house?" She leaned closer to him so that they were nearly face to beak. Wildwing gulped, "So is this asking me to move in with you permanently or what?" A white feathered brow raised at her question before he smiled and nuzzled her.

"Is that a yes?" He pulled away from her with a smile.

"Well I'm going to have to do something to keep myself busy, I suppose." She shifted close enough to lean into his body and smiled when a strong arm wrapped around her shoulders. She rested her head on his shoulder and her arms snaked around his torso. "And I think Molly would be heart broken if I tried to move us back home now anyway."

"You mean you don't want to move in with me for my striking good looks." Wildwing winked.

"Well, you're just the cherry on the cake." She smirked and kissed his cheek.

"Ewwww!" Molly squealed as she and Duke walked back from the dance floor. "You're gonna get cooties mom!" Molly burst into a giggling fit.

"Kids." Duke muttered with a chuckle as he shook his head. He picked the little girl up and Molly promptly let out a big yawn, "I think this little lady is done for the night. Don't you kid."

"Awe." Molly whined, "I can dance a little longer!" But she let out another yawn and rested her head on Duke's shoulder clearly ready to drop.

"I think Duke is right young lady." Wildwing chuckled as he got to his feet and held his hand out for Jessica. The three adults walked back to their vehicles and by the time they got there, Molly was already fast asleep. Duke gently placed the child in the back seat of Wildwing's jeep and strapped her in. "See you back at the pond Duke."

"You kidding?" Duke replied, "The night is young Wildwing." Duke winked before hopping onto his bike, "I'm off to find some beautiful women and to make merry." He winked at them. Jessica and Wildwing looked at each other and laughed. The pair climbed into the jeep and Wildwing began the drive home.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

"Why the hell didn't you call me?!" Wildwing bellowed at a guilty looking Canard the next morning. Duke leant against Drake one with his arms crossed and merely glared at his leader angrily, clearly on Wildwing's side in this particular argument.

"Because you were busy, and we could handle it." Canard replied calmly.

"Yeah you handled it perfectly Canard!" Wildwing seethed, "So well in fact my brother is in the infirmary with busted ribs and a cracked skull!"

Wildwing had returned home with Jessica and Molly just before his teammates. He had just carried Molly to bed and tucked her in before he and Jessica had gone to the kitchen to make a warm drink. They had intended to retire to bed themselves shortly after. When he'd arrived at the kitchen he and Jessica had heard the others return but it sounded like they had rushed to the infirmary rather then going to drake one or disbursing their own ways as normal. The pair had looked at each other and had rushed to the infirmary themselves to see what was going on. When they arrived, it was to find Tanya hooking Nosedive up to the medicom unit. Nosedive had insisted he was fine as he normally did but it wasn't long before the medical equipment had reveal the true extent of his injuries. He had a hairline fracture in his skull where he had been slammed into the ground by Siege. All but two ribs were damaged, and it would be a while before Nosedive would be going anywhere.

"Hey, what happened was not his fault!" Mallory snapped from where she had been listening. "They were caught off guard. Right Canard?"

"Which we wouldn't have been if the pair of us hadn't been arguing." Canard admitted his guilty conscience not allowing him to let that slide.

"Great, so you can't even get on with him long enough to function in a battle situation?" Wildwing rubbed his temples.

"I'm sorry Wing. I kept him with me to look out for him, but it made it worse." Canard clenched his fists and looked away from his furious friend. Wildwing glared at Canard then spun on his heels and began to leave. "Where are you going?"

"To blow off some steam before I hit you!" Wildwing snapped. "Again!" Canard winced as his friend left.

"Well let's hope he blows off steam in time for the game tomorrow." Tanya sighed then also left to check on her patient. All but Mallory left as well, Duke giving Canard a disgusted look beforehand and the red head placed a hand on Canard's upper arm in comfort.

"I screwed up big time." Canard sighed. Mallory moved closer still and cupped his cheek with her right hand.

"You did what you thought was right." She told him firmly, "This is a war. People get hurt. We can only do so much to prevent that."

"Come on Mallory," Canard wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder for some comfort, "I should never have taken the leadership back. Duke was right. Wildwing is a better leader than me."

"Can that noise." Mallory pulled away and punched him in the arm. "This was always your team. Wildwing knows that, you have no idea how long it took him to accept that you were gone, and he had to take over. He never wanted to be leader, he just did it because he was the only one who could. Believe me, we found that out the hard way." Mallory snorted remembering the fiasco when Wildwing had given up then immediately had been kidnapped, leading them to think he had deserted them. "You brought this team together. You deserve to lead us, and you are every bit as good as Wildwing."

"You're bias." Canard chuckled at her.

"Maybe a little." She grinned leaning in and nuzzling him deeply. "But I can live with that." She nuzzled him again before pulling away once more, "Nosedive will be fine, he's tougher than he looks. And it's not like we're a man down any more. So, the game tomorrow is covered."

"That doesn't make my best friend any less mad at me." Canard sighed.

"You ask me, Wildwing is being an idiot. Dive could have been hurt regardless of who he was with." Mallory tried to reason with her lover.

"But he got hurt with me. And because I couldn't keep my emotions in check I didn't notice the saurians had spotted us." Canard pointed out. "I…" He looked up as someone came into the command room to see Jessica. She looked at the pair but didn't seem to bear him any ill will.

"Have you seen Wildwing?" She asked them, "Nosedive wants him to pick up something for him and won't let me do it."

"He went somewhere to blow off some steam." Mallory informed the woman.

"Oh, um, thanks." Jessica said and went to leave.

"Hey, do you think this is Canard's fault?" Mallory asked ignoring Canard's attempt to shush her.

"Excuse me?" Jessica turned to face them again.

"Dive getting hurt. Do you think it's Canard's fault?" Mallory asked insistently.

"Why does my opinion matter?" Jessica frowned.

"Just answer the question." Mallory rolled her eyes.

"Listen," Jessica put her hands on her hips and glared at the pair, "I don't know exactly what happened last night, nor do I particularly want to. From what I understand the two of you," she indicated to Canard, "were arguing instead of paying attention." She sighed, and her posture softened, "At the end of the day, no one was killed. Everyone came home alive. And trust me, that is the only thing that matters." She sighed, "I'm going to find Wildwing, or do you have any more burning questions to ask me?" She added with an exasperated tone. The pair shook their heads no and Jessica left.

Jessica shook her head as she wondered towards the hanger to see if Wildwing's jeep was still parked there. If it was then he had probably gone to the roof or for a walk nearby. When she realised his jeep was in fact present she made her way to the roof, hoping to find the tall mallard there. When she reached the roof, he was sat there staring at the morning sky.

"Hey." She said as she approached. He hummed a greeting but didn't actually look at her or really voice any words. "Canard seems pretty upset."

"He should be." Wildwing growled angrily.

"Nosedive is tough." Jessica tried to reassure Wildwing, "He'll be ok."

"But if Canard had been more careful he wouldn't be in the infirmary with a busted skull and ribs." Wildwing snapped staring angrily out at the cityscape.

"If the pair of them hadn't been arguing things probably would have been different." Jessica agreed, "I don't like seeing him hurt either. I know I would be freaking out if it was Alex."

"As leader, Canard should be making sure the team gets back safely." Wildwing clenched his fists.

"Wildwing," Jess placed a hand on his shoulder and waited till he finally glanced at her, "If this was one of the others. Would you be as angry?"

"Of course!" Wildwing looked at her properly now, but she gave him a look that clearly showed she didn't believe him. He sighed then admitted, "No I guess I wouldn't. I mean I would still be angry that he didn't call us, but…"

"But you would probably be reassuring him that these things happen and there was nothing he could do about it now?" Jessica finished for him.

"Still doesn't mean I'm not pissed at him." Wildwing replied stubbornly. Jessica chuckled at him and leaned into his shoulder. A smile graced her features as his arm instinctively wrapped around her shoulders. "This is going to put a damper on his birthday party huh?"

"I'm sure we can figure something out." Jessica rested her head on his chest. "I was talking to Mookie the other day and she said Dive had mentioned something about going to a comicon or something. Maybe we could just take him to that. She mentioned there was an after party if you forked out for tickets."

"A comicon?" Wildwing looked down at her, "You mean like nerds and costumes?"

"Don't forget the video games and geeks." Jessica replied innocently at him. Wildwing just laughed at her.

"Do I detect that you might want to go too?" Wildwing asked her curiously.

"I don't know what you mean." Jessica replied very unconvincingly, "But I am sure Molly would love to get all dolled up in a costume and spend the day looking at all the stuff there too."

"Are you a closet geek?" Wildwing mocked shock.

"Wildwing, I'm a history teacher by profession." Jessica rolled her eyes, "I'm more of a nerd. But I have to admit to having attended the occasional convention in cosplay when I was in high school and college. It was fun at the time." She realised Wildwing was looking at her in an odd fashion.

"Please tell me I'm not dating a female version of my brother!" Wildwing laughed at the thought.

"Hey! I haven't picked up a comic for years!" She objected then realised that probably wasn't helping when Wing just laughed harder, "Well that's just rude!" She pulled away and got up with a pout, a little embarrassed.

"Don't be like that Jess." Wildwing realised he had upset her and stood up to apologise. He placed his hands on her shoulders. Her back was to him and she had her arms folded in a very closed off posture. "It was just a surprise is all. I never thought you would be into that sort of thing."

"Is it a problem?" Jessica asked as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Why would it be a problem?!" Wildwing started, "Jess, I…" He stopped for a moment to consider his response, "I care about you a lot. That you have so much in common with my brother is a bonus." He smiled at her when she turned to look at him properly, her posture was still a little closed off though. "I'm sorry I upset you Jessica." She looked at him suspiciously as if considering whether or not he meant his apology or not then smiled.

"You mean the world to me Wildwing." Jessica admitted, "To Molly too. But if Molly and I are going to be living here permanently, I have to know that you like me. The good and the bad parts of me. And seriously too."

"All right." Wildwing brushed her chin with his right thumb, "Then show me, tell me. I want to know everything about you Jessica. And I don't want to lose you if I can help it." Jessica seemed to consider his words for a moment before replying.

"Well, after Eric died I developed severe depression and anxiety. I still have bouts of it every now and again. I'm not fun to be around when they happen. I can get panic attacks in the worst cases." She paused to see if he said anything, "I can't sing to save my life, but I can play the guitar. I am known to drink too much, when I actually start drinking. Particularly if I am down. I also don't speak to my parents nearly enough despite knowing that they worry about me. I didn't even tell them until after I moved, that I was moving down here to California."

"Anything else?" Wildwing asked honestly wanting to know.

"Yes." Jessica chewed her lip and squeezed her eyes shut before spitting it out, "I used to be really, really into cosplay and had a really stupid name that I went by. I stopped when I got pregnant with Molly and never went back. But I kind of miss making and wearing the outfits."

"You can make stuff?" Wildwing asked, "Like what?" Jess looked up at him and pulled out her phone and after a few moments she passed it to him. He found an album had been brought up and he swiped through the pictures electronically stored within it. He found several pictures of a younger Jessica. She was in a variety of costumes from gowns to armour. "You made all this?"

"It was years ago and there are people making way better stuff than anything I ever made these days, but yes. I made all that." Jessica had gone quite red. In truth she rarely admitted that she took part in something so geeky in her youth. She preferred to focus on the hell raising she got up to with her best friend Charlie when they were racing cars that Charlie had fixed up. Eric had known her from childhood and he had encouraged her diverse hobbies. Charlie would often join her, finding the geeks a nice crowd to have fun with, although her friend didn't cosplay. But a lot of her friends from both worlds had teased her about the opposing hobbies. After Eric had died, she'd pulled away from both. She was a new mother that no longer had a husband to support her. So, she concentrated on Molly until she was able to go back to work. Then she moved to Anaheim to be closer to her twin and to get away from the memory of Eric. His memory haunted her in Chicago and even regular meet ups with Charlie weren't helping. When Alex had suggested the move, she had barely thought twice about it and had easily sold her house in Chicago then stayed with Alex until she had found her own place.

"That's actually really cool." Wildwing smiled as he handed her back the phone, "You should ask Dive about the con. I'll pay for the tickets."

"Really?" Jessica was genuinely surprised.

"I'll even go with you." He leaned forward with a grin.

"You might regret that." Jessica smirked.

"You think I'm going to let the three of you loose on all those poor defenceless geeks alone. You're going to need someone sane to stop you from terrifying them." He winked.

"Funny."

"I try." Wildwing chuckled. His face turned serious though, "Thank you Jessica."

"For what?"

"For cheering me up." He replied.

"That's what girlfriends are for right?" Jessica wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest once more. She breathed in his scent as Wildwing rested his beak on her hair.

"I should probably check on Dive." Wildwing said before pulling away slightly but still keeping his arms loosely around her waist. Jessica leaned into him with a smile then took his hand and they both went inside.

"Oh yeah," Jessica suddenly remembered, "Nosedive wanted you to pick something up for him but wouldn't tell me what is was. Even when I offered to pick it up for him.

 _Somewhere across the galaxy._

"Are you sure that this will work?" Draganus asked dubiously as he eyed the scientists on the other side of the glass. Limburger had put him in contact with the high chairman of the Plutarkian government. The leader of the fish like race had informed him that they would like to combine their teleportation technology. This, they informed him, would allow him to bring his forces from dimensional limbo and all that the Plutarkian leaders asked in return was for the resources of earth to be made theirs. It was the same deal he had offered to Limburger and he was more than willing to agree. Of course, he had no intention of keeping his alliance with them once the pungent race had outlived their usefulness. After all, the human technology was not advanced enough to rebuild his dimensional generator, but theirs was. The scientists and engineers behind the glass were not all Plutarkians and many wore collars around their necks showing that they were prisoners of the Plutarkian race. There were even one or two humans mixed within the slaves.

"We have, at our disposal, some of the most brilliant minds in the galaxy." The high chairman told him from the video screen to his right. "It shouldn't take long to combine our technologies to achieve our goals."

"Most interesting work, Camembert." Draganus admitted looking at some of the notes on the computer before him. If the new research relating to the combination of his own dimensional teleportation technology and the Plutarkian's teleportation technology worked, he would not only have access to his forces in limbo but access to every dimension in reality. He could finally begin working on the growth of the saurian empire once again.

"I also wish to present you with a new ally to assist you in your endeavours. He will be able to advise you on how best to deal with your enemies." Camembert told him. Draganus' anger rose.

"I am quite capable of dealing with those meddling mallards myself." Draganus' eyes glowed slightly and his nostrils began to smoke.

"Very well. But if at any point you wish for assistance, Ikaru will be at your disposal." Camembert told the temperamental saurian, "I can assure you that you will not be disappointed in that regard. He has already been assisting Limburger on Earth with certain… jobs."

It was at that point alarms began blaring and Draganus raised an eyebrow.

"Problems Camembert?" He did his best to his hide his mirth. Camembert glared at him over the monitor then bellowed to someone behind him. Draganus looked to the room full of scientists. The lights suddenly dimmed and only the blue emergency lights provided any lighting in the room behind the glass. The main doors were blown off their hinges, throwing the guards there across the room, unlikely to ever move again. A figure with purple hair emerged from the smoke and took out the remaining guards like lightening. The figure stopped next to a group of scientists huddled in the far corner. Draganus was surprised to see a young woman. She was of very short stature, with an incredibly athletic build. It was clear that this young woman was a warrior of some kind. She had her long purple hair tied in a high pony tail, with bangs of varying lengths framing her face. She wore an outfit that consisted of black pants with knee high boots. A low-cut crop top covered her chest and fingerless gloves that extended nearly to the girl's shoulders offered some protection to her arms. Finally, a blood red scarf was wrapped around her neck enough that it made difficult to discern her facial features. The girl held a deadly energy sword in each hand, and a small laser weapon was in a holster on her belt and resting in the small of her back. It looked like the holsters for her swords were either side of the gun so that the hilts would form a cross beneath the gun. One of the scientists jumped up and embraced the young woman before they had a rushed conversation that Draganus could not hear. The purple haired woman led the small group of scientists out of the room and they disappeared. Draganus scoffed and used his wrist teleporter to return to the raptor. He had no doubt the Plutarkians would come through with their offer. Of course, he had no intention of lifting a claw to assist them against any enemy who was not a threat to him. He did however, make sure to make note of the young woman in case she ever became a nuisance to himself or his plans. All he intended on doing was ensuring that the leader of the fish like people had other facilities working on the plans he and Camembert had made.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

Wildwing watched from the window in Phil's office as Jessica drilled the kids that had volunteered to try out for the team. Given his age, technically Nosedive should have been one of them and Canard had made sure to remind his little brother at every opportunity, until Wildwing had given him a physical warning to leave his brother alone whilst sparring the previous day. They had made sure to get special permission from the NHL for Nosedive to play on the team. Given his skill and the fact that they had explained that hockey was their planet's international sport, the NHL had reluctantly agreed. When they had seen for themselves how good Nosedive really was they never mentioned any more about his age and the public had dubbed him a 'child prodigy' in hockey, or some such rubbish. He knew his little brother was better than most kids his age, even on their own planet, but he still had a long way to go to be the best and could still be bested by some of the humans when he began his show boating. He smiled at the memories coming to mind of the times Nosedive had made him proud then glanced back down at the rag tag kids ranging from 16 to 21 on the ice below. Jessica had asked that all be allowed to train for a time until she decided who would make the team and who wouldn't. Jessica seemed to be really enjoying herself and the young adults on the ice certainly seemed to like her. She skated around the kids as they carried out their drills, some were better skaters than others, he had a suspicion that some had only volunteered to try out because of the chance that they might meet one of his team. They probably would but he was certain that Jessica would see through any of those and ensure they didn't make the final cut.

"Are you listening to me Wildwing?" Phil said in an exasperated tone. Wildwing turned to their manager with a roll of his eyes.

"Phil," Wildwing placed his hands on his hips, "I'm not team captain anymore so I really don't know why you insist on talking to me about all these appearances."

"Because Canard has no business sense at all!" Phil whined, "You want to keep the money coming in you gotta keep up appearances!" Phil declared, "But Canard doesn't care, and your appearances are down so much your finances are suffering!" Wildwing sighed.

"All right Phil. I'll talk to him about it." Wildwing rubbed his temples realising that Phil was right, as annoying as that was to admit. What they did cost a lot of money and if they were haemorrhaging it they needed to do something about it or they might not be able to continue as they had.

"Thanks, Wildwing!" Phil gave him a bear hug making the former team captain feel very uncomfortable. "Oh, and I think we should get that gorgeous girlfriend and maybe her kid to…"

"No." Wildwing deadpanned.

"Oh but…" Phil began to whine again.

"You are not using my girlfriend and her daughter as a marketing ploy!" Wildwing said incredulously.

"Fine." The portly manager huffed, "But you guys have been invited to several openings, dinners and film premiers. Can you at least invite Jessica along?" Phil smiled sweetly at the white drake, "You know, treat her, get her hair done, buy her some expensive dresses. That kind of thing. Girls like that!" Phil added hopefully.

"Jess isn't like normal girls." Wildwing shook his head, then smiled as an amusing idea came to mind, "Tell you what Phil. If you can convince Jessica to come to any of those things with me, then I won't complain."

"Really?" Phil asked, "And what about the new threads and then a makeover to get her looking the part?" Phil asked suspiciously.

"You manage to persuade her to attend any of them, I'll take her shopping." Wildwing shrugged.

"You're on!" Phil almost leapt for joy and rushed out of the room.

"Phil!" Wildwing shouted after him, "She's kind of busy right now!" Wildwing warned, but the human paid him no mind. Wildwing shook his head in disbelief at the human's behaviour and made his way back down to their headquarters beneath ground to speak with Canard. He found his friend in the gym weight training. "You're gonna hurt yourself lifting that much without a spotter you know." Wildwing pointed out when he saw the amount of weight Canard was lifting alone.

"I'll manage." Canard grunted as he performed another rep, "I have before." Wildwing snorted at the stubbornness of his friend and walked over to spot for him anyway.

"What's up?" The tan mallard asked as he continued with his training.

"Phil reckons we're short on money." Wildwing told him.

"So?" Canard grunted again as he went to place the bar bell back on the holder. Wildwing helped him and watched his leader sit up and grab a towel to wipe the sweat from his brow and pick up his water bottle. He took a swig of his water before looking up at his friend expecting an answer.

"So, this compound takes a lot of money to maintain. Tanya has sold a few of her inventions to the government to help improve the humans' technology but there's only so much she can create around everything else she has to do around here. Especially with all the injuries we've been getting recently."

"And Phil thinks we need to do more of these ridiculous public appearances to raise more money?" Canard clicked to Wildwing's point.

"Well you'd be surprised how much money it brings in." Wildwing shrugged. "And we still need to live here. We lose the pond, we're sitting ducks for Draganus. It's a necessary evil."

"It's ridiculous that we need to do this!" Canard spat, "I mean we're helping the humans! They should be helping us!"

"Canard," Wildwing said in a scolding manner, "We are the reason Draganus is here. The government are aware of what we've told them, but they want it kept secret from the public as much and as long as possible." Canard looked at Wildwing shocked, "I spoke to some higher ups when we first got here about the situation. All we had were our files on the matter. Since we had no real proof at the time the government couldn't risk causing a public panic in case we were lying. They 'help' by buying what inventions Tanya creates for them to sell. She's working with the government here to improve their medical facilities and weaponry. But we have to be careful. Humans tend to like waging war on each other far more than our people used to. So, she can't share everything in case it's used against other countries or even us. So, it's better if we support ourselves where we can, rather than relying on any help from the government." Canard stared at his friend in slight shock, impressed at the foresight Wildwing had in the situation he had been placed in.

"I'll talk to Phil about this before the game." Canard relented, once again feeling like Wildwing had been the better leader when he was in charge.

"Wildwing!" Both drakes jumped at Jessica bellowing Wildwing's name from the hallway. "What's the big idea of setting Phil on me?!" She fumed at him.

"Well I…" Wildwing took a step back from her, never having been on the receiving end of her when she was angry. She was more intimidating when the anger was aimed at him.

"Well I nothing." She crossed her arms, "He came onto the ice, in regular shoes no less!" She griped, "Then proceeded to begin trying to talk me into going to some appearance with you guys." She glared at Wildwing ignoring the retreating Canard who gave his friend an apologetic look before hastily leaving the gym whilst trying not to laugh at the almost terrified look on his friend's face.

"I told him not to bother you whilst you were busy," Wildwing defended, "He didn't listen."

"He did however mention that, if I agreed, you would take me shopping and organise a make over for me." Wildwing blinked at his now smirking girlfriend. The 180 was a little disconcerting and he gulped nervously, "So if I have to help you guys pay for this place I intend to make sure me and the girls are taken care of."

"You and the girls?" Wildwing had a sinking feeling his wages weren't going far this month.

"Not only are you treating me, but Mallory and Tanya too." Jessica told him with her arms crossed, now with a wide grin gracing her face. "And you will be paying for someone to babysit Molly whilst we are at any of these events where necessary. Agreed?" She raised her eyebrow as she awaited a response.

"So, he persuaded you?" Wildwing was surprised. He honestly didn't think anything Phil could say would persuade Jessica to attend the events Phil had mentioned. She certainly wasn't private about not liking their manager and he would have thought she'd want to avoid any events because it meant she would have to socialise with Phil. But it seemed he was wrong.

"You are letting me, and Molly live here free of charge. You even let my brother and his wife live here when I was being stalked too! They still stay here on occasion." Jessica shrugged, "If me sucking it up and being your arm candy helps out, it's the least I can do. But if I have to be eye candy, I intend on looking good doing it." She smirked again, "Now do we have a deal?" Wildwing sighed.

"You really don't owe me or the team anything." He told her. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"Do we have a deal?" Jessica crossed her arms again and jutted out her chin and glared at him, her look demanding an answer.

"Deal." Wildwing sighed again. "You are a force to be reckoned with, you know that?"

"You should meet my mother." Jessica chuckled then turned to leave.

"Where are you going now?" Wildwing asked.

"To tell the girls the good news of course." She looked at him innocently. "I'm sure they're going to be psyched that we are getting a free make over!" Wildwing groaned As Jessica laughed at her boyfriend and left.

"Remind me to encourage Dive to plan a prank on Phil sometime soon." Wildwing again rubbed his temples feeling a headache coming on.

Jessica in the meantime used her comm to ask Mallory and Tanya to meet her in the rec room. She stopped on the way to grab a coffee for each of them and waited for them to arrive.

"What's up?" Tanya asked as she accepted the coffee and took a seat. Mallory did the same and eyed Jessica suspiciously.

"I just blagged us all a makeover." Jessica told them like a child telling them about her greatest achievement.

"Excuse me?" Mallory asked more than a little confused.

"Phil wanted me to join you guys as Wildwing's arm ornament to some public appearances." Her tone gave away her opinion of acting like a prop, but she continued, "I only agreed if Wildwing paid for us all to have a makeover." Jessica took a sip of her coffee. "So be ready to be pampered cause I intend to make Wildwing regret setting Phil on me in front of those kids." She smirked as she thought of her plan.

"Wait you're going to be joi..joi.. coming with us on public appearances?" Tanya asked genuinely shocked.

"And you're ok with that?" Mallory asked, also surprised. She didn't spend much time with Jessica, but the woman didn't seem the type to agree to such things.

"Well no." Jessica admitted, "But apparently it might bring in more money for you guys, so I am willing to help," She paused and added with a grin, "For a price of course." She turned and addressed Mallory specifically, "You might want to bring Canard along to hold the shopping bags red." Jessica winked.

"Jessica," Mallory laughed, "I'm beginning to like how you think!"

"Um," Tanya got their attention, "What exactly does a makeover involve?" Tanya asked a little nervously then quickly added, "Not that I don't like the idea, I Just…"

"You've never had a makeover?!" Jessica asked in utter shock.

"Trust me," Mallory looked to her teammate and friend, "It's not for want of trying. I've been offering to take her out ever since we got here and earned enough money to get a decent one done!"

"Well, I've never worried about my looks." Tanya pointed out, "It's not like I would get many dates in my job back on Puckworld. I was always working and when I wasn't I was sleeping. And here? Well…" Tanya clenched her fists. "Besides there's not much to work with." She added quietly.

"Bull!" Jessica snapped. "And as for your original question, hair, makeup and a whole new wardrobe!" She winked at her fellow blonde. "And you are not saying no this time."

"I'm with Jess on this one." Mallory put an arm around Jessica's shoulders and the pair clinked their mugs together.

"Well all right." Tanya raised her own mug and clinked it against theirs also. The women laughed together and began talking about where they would be going not realising that Duke, Canard and Wildwing had been listening from the other room.

"Oh, you boys are in trouble!" Duke sang at them before leaving to do his own thing laughing as he did.

"What have you done." Canard asked in a light hearted accusatory tone.

"Trust me," Wildwing cringed at the women who were bursting out into incredibly girlish giggling between their discussions of where they would go for their makeover day, "had I thought there was any chance of Jessica agreeing to the appearances, I would never have set Phil on her." Wildwing turned to his friend, "Although I'm pretty sure Nosedive would be more than happy to get him back if we ask him." Wildwing offered with an evil glint in his eye.

"If Phil's meddling causes me to end up being a bag bitch for Mallory, then I give my blessing for your brat of a brother to do whatever prank he feels fit." Canard sniggered.

Mallory sighed as the human massaged the shampoo into her hair. As hockey players, she and Tanya put their hair through a lot of punishment, so it was nice to take care of it properly every now and again. Jessica was already having her hair styled, the woman was having a heavy set of bangs cut in and the ends tidied up. Mallory herself was having the layers recut into her hair but less off than normal as she was growing it out a little, since Canard had mentioned he had liked her hair since it had been a little longer and she had to admit she could do more with it when it was a longer length. Tanya's unruly mop of hair was being completely overhauled. Her hair was being shampooed, conditioned and completely restyled. The red head hoped that Tanya liked the finished product. The woman really needed to treat herself more. Mallory knew it was only due to Tanya's incredibly low self-esteem that her teammate never really bothered with the way she looked. Even her day clothes were some of the most unflattering Tanya could wear. Tanya was a much heavier built to Mallory, but she was by no means fat. In fact, the woman had muscle tone to die for. But she always hid it beneath baggy clothing and jump suits. Mallory found it a shame that Tanya lacked so much confidence in herself that she couldn't even show off her figure for what it was.

Before long she and Jessica were done and had moved onto the nail bar whilst Tanya was being finished up. Mallory chatted with Jessica about silly things, such as the television programs they watched, magazines they read and celebrities and some of the hilarious things they got up to as she watched the woman doing Jessica's nails. Said woman piped up here and there with a tit bit of gossip she had heard through her job. After all Mallory had found the most exclusive beauty parlour to start off their day of pampering so this woman had likely pampered some pretty rich and famous people in her career. The girls had told the boys they would call them when it was time for them to begin their shopping spree. Both Wildwing and Canard had looked at each other before wandering off to do their own thing.

"So, you're coming with us to the premiere of that new sci-fi movie huh?" Mallory asked watching in interest as the woman shaped Jessica's nails to perfection to prepare them for the addition of the polish.

"That sci-fi movie?" Jessica laughed, "Mallory, please don't say that when you get there." Jessica chuckled, "You might be lynched by some of the sci fi fans!"

"Oh please, I can handle a couple of nerds!" Mallory laughed.

"Oh, you'd be surprised." Jessica winked, "Besides they tend to travel in packs. Safety in numbers and all that."

"Hah!" Mallory threw her head back as she laughed, "I would love to see that!"

"I'll bet you would." Jessica smirked. "And yes, I'm coming with you. I've asked Mary if she'd mind doing something fancy with our hair that night to go with whatever we decide to wear." Jessica winked.

"Not making Wildwing pay for someone then." Mallory laughed.

"Nah," the blond replied, "I think I will be spending enough of his money today!" She laughed. "Although I did make him promise for a babysitter, so he might try to give Mary something for her time."

"I like the way you think my friend!" Mallory then had a thought, "In fact this might be the perfect punishment whenever Canard pisses me off!"

"Happy to be of assistance red!" Jessica laughed.

"I hope you don't mind me asking," Mallory scratched her cheek, "Tanya mentioned that your late husband was in special ops in the army?"

"Oh, um, yeah he was." Jessica replied wondering where she was going with the conversation and hoping she didn't want too much details. She had a momentary realisation that there was only a minor pang in her heart at the mention of Eric, she made a mental note to call Charlie or her mom to discuss this at a later date.

"What was it like?" Mallory asked, "Being a civilian and loosing him like that. I mean, my whole family was in the military, so I pretty much had access to all the information I need about my father and brothers' missions. Right up till they died in action." Mallory paused realising what she admitted. She hadn't told anyone about that, except Canard.

"Your whole family?" Jessica asked turning to look at the red head.

"That's awful!" The women doing Jessica's nails said sadly. Mallory turned to the woman and was surprised to see the human nail artist looked to be almost in tears. "I'm so sorry."

"It's ok." She assured the other woman as she inwardly cursed herself for letting the information slip, "It was a war. They died fighting to free our people from Draganus."

"What about your mother?" Jessica asked sombrely, fearing the answer. Mallory looked away wishing to any deity listening that she had never brought the subject up.

"She wasn't in the military, but after my last brother died she got sick." Mallory shrugged, "They said she died of a broken heart, whatever that means." Mallory sighed, "Seems me being alive still, wasn't enough to keep her going."

"I'm sure that wasn't the case." Jessica said kindly, "I can't speak for all mothers, but I could never imagine losing Molly. When I lost Eric, I was broken. He had been in my life since I was a child and despite Molly coming along I considered ending it. I knew Molly would be taken care of by my own mother. She would have been fine. I nearly wasted away. I stopped eating. I didn't take care of myself. My mom made me move back in with them for a while and was constantly by my side, helping with Molly making sure I ate. That I didn't hurt myself. My dad was less suffocating, but he was there in his own way. Making sure he got me out in the barns," Jessica smiled at the memory, "He took on this stallion. His name was demon because everyone thought he was unhinged. My dad was more than capable of working with him, but he would always come in a claim that the horse was a lost cause. My sister Cassie was off on the show jumping circuits in Europe and my mom claimed she was too old to deal with a nut case like Demon. One day I got curious and went out the yard to take a look at this horse. He was in one of the corals on his own and was getting himself into such a state. As I got closer he put his ears back and tried to frighten me off. But I knew better. He was just scared. He has several scars on his flanks and legs from what looked like whips. He'd clearly been poorly treated by someone and was now scared of humans. It wasn't his fault. If my dad hadn't taken him in, he would have ended up on the meat lorry. Anyway," Jessica realised she'd gone off on a tangent, "needless to say, Demon gave me something to hang on to. That and Molly. I came to my senses eventually and with the help of doctors and my family I found a reason to hold on. Perhaps your mother knew you were strong enough to keep going without her."

"But she gave up." Mallory clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes shut wondering why the tears were threatening to fall now when they had never done so before. "She left me." The nail artist was suddenly on her feet and had wrapped her arms around the duck. The woman was now crying. Mallory's eyes went wide in shock.

"I lost my mom too." She said, "It wasn't anything horrible like what you went through. But she got cancer and died. She was all I had. She refused treatment. Said it was pointless, that she didn't want to be treated when the possibility of it not working at the time was so high. For so long I hated her for not fighting it. She left me all alone." The nail artist moved away again looking a little embarrassed and sat back down to finish her job on Jessica's nails, "But eventually I came to realise that she didn't refuse treatment because she didn't want to be with me. She refused treatment because she didn't want me to see her suffer for too long." The girl sniffed as she continued, "I'm sure your mother loved you too. And you seem pretty bad ass from what I've seen on TV. So, it's not like she had to worry about you if she was gone."

"What's your name sweetie." Jessica asked.

"Oh, it's Cayleigh." She replied.

"Well Cayleigh," Jessica smiled kindly, "I'm sorry to hear about your mother."

"It's ok." She wiped her eyes and smiled, "It was a long time ago now. I'm ok." She turned to Mallory, "But you have to know that what you're feeling is normal. I can only imagine how much worse it must be for you, given the circumstances."

"I…" Mallory couldn't believe the human in front of her. She didn't know her. She was just a nail artist employed to touch up Jessica's nails. But the human had genuinely reached out to her. Tried to comfort her despite not knowing who she was. Every time she thought she had worked out the human race, one of them surprised her. She was touched at the human's concern.

"Um, guys?" The pair inclined their heads towards Tanya as she called out to them. They turned, and Mallory barely recognised her teammate. Her hair had been straightened and cut into layers that framed her face. Gone was the horrible purple hair band keeping her hair held up like a hay stack and the woman's hair hung down her back brushing her shoulder blades.

"Wow!" Jessica grinned at Tanya, "You look amazing!"

"I barely recognised you!" Mallory admitted.

"You thi.. think so." Tanya said shyly.

"What do you think Cayleigh?" Mallory turned to the woman whom they'd been speaking to.

"It really suits you!" Cayleigh beamed at the other mighty duck attending the beauty parlour.

"Gosh." Tanya blushed furiously, "You really think so?"

"We know so!" Mallory and Jessica said in unison before looking at each other and laughing at the fact that they said the same thing at once.

"Awe thanks guys." Tanya added bashfully. She and Mallory waited for Jessica's nails to be finished and for them to dry then called the boys to come pay and take them to the clothes stores Mallory and Jessica had chosen. Jessica and Mallory had both left a sizable tip for Cayleigh, making sure the owner knew who the extra money was for and that they would recommend the woman to their friends. The manager had been extremely pleased and had assured them that their comments would be passed on to the nail artist.

"I'm afraid to ask," Wildwing said as he pocketed his wallet, "but where to now?" Mallory and Jessica looked at each other, then declared together;

"To the shops!" Tanya giggled at the pair and followed the two women who walked arm in arm in front of the small group.

"What have I created." Wildwing said in mock alarm then looked to Tanya, "You look gorgeous Tanya." He told her honestly.

"Yeah, you should definitely wear your hair down more often." Canard agreed. Tanya tried to say thank you, but she was so embarrassed that she couldn't get anything out without stuttering. She knew the two drakes knew what she was trying to say though. Mallory turned and held out an arm to her blond friend who smiled and took said arm, joining the two more confident women. Her brain couldn't quite comprehend what was happening. She had never been popular. She'd always been the loner sat in a lab or the corner working on something. At school she graduated high school when she was 10 and at college she was far too young to get involved with the antics of the other students. By the time she was old enough to do anything, she found she didn't know what to do and it was far easier to simply shut herself away than be sociable. That was until the saurians had hit. Then she busied herself into helping her people by creating weapons and machinery to help the resistance. She would socialise then. With other scientists and engineers. With other resistance members. But it was always work related. She'd never experienced this. She found it pleasant and made a mental note to see if the other women were willing to do things like this together more often.

The small group spent the next two hours browsing the various boutiques and clothes stores for new wardrobes. Mallory and Jessica helped Tanya choose something that was flattering to her muscular physique and, at Jessica's insistence, that the genius was comfortable in. Gone were the baggy dresses and clothing. And she was now kitted out with some tight yet respectable gear. Jessica secretly promised Mallory that they could work on the woman's confidence to include some more revealing gear to her wardrobe at some point too. Mallory had reluctantly agreed when Jessica had pointed out that pushing the less confidant woman into the type of outfits Mallory was comfortable with, would probably frighten Tanya back into her lab. They had to build her confidence up first.

Soon the boys were laden with several bags, each woman revelled in ensuring that the only bags they need carry were their own purses. The group finally made their way back to the cars and with the shopping in the car boots of both Wildwing's jeep and Canards' SUV. Mallory climbed into the SUV with Canard, whilst Tanya and Jessica climbed into Wildwing's jeep and they made their way back to the pond.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

Phil grumbled as he traipsed down to the lower levels of the pond. He had walked into his office to be greeted with a bucket of something sticky falling on his head. When he had removed said bucket something popped, and he was promptly covered in feathers. He knew exactly who would have set the prank up. They had a premiere to go to tonight and if he couldn't get the muck off him by then, he would not be a happy manager. He entered the rec room to find Duke, Grin and Nosedive watching a film on the big screen.

"What happened to you?!" Duke asked barely stifling a laugh.

"Nosedive!" Phil half growled, half whined, "Why would you do this to your loveable manager?!"

"Who says it was me?" Nosedive asked with a grin on his face betraying him completely.

"We have a premiere to go to tonight and I can't go covered in feathers!" Phil stamped his foot like a child having a tantrum.

"Never did us any harm." Duke quipped.

"I am not a duck!" Phil yelled angrily.

"Chill out Phil." Nosedive rolled his eyes. "Tanya will have something to take it off. Just do me a favour." Dive looked at Phil with an evil smile, "mess with my bro or Jess again, and there'll be more where that came from!" Nosedive winked at his manager. The portly man growled and left to find Tanya and ask for her help.

Jessica Fury hummed in pleasure as the hot water hit her skin. It would be her first appearance with the ducks tonight, at least officially. She had chosen a long black gown with thin straps to hot it up and a slit in the skirt to show off her thigh. She was going to help Tanya with her make up, so she was getting herself primped and primed in good time to ensure they didn't have to rush. As a teen she had only been interested in make up when she went out in cosplay. It was one of the reasons that she was accused of being such a tom boy all the time. Of course, being into street racing and having the ability to race better than any of the local boys didn't help either. Her mind wandered as she lathered the shampoo onto her hair, so it would be nice and clean when Mary arrived to style it for her. Her life had taken a sudden turn. She'd known about the mighty ducks since the moment they first played a hockey match. What hockey fan wouldn't, but never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined becoming friends with them, let alone falling hard for their goalie. She smiled at that. Had she really fallen in love with Wildwing? It was odd. It wasn't the same feeling she had when she was with Eric. Eric had been with her ever since she could remember. She had loved him for so long and as a result had never really dated anyone else before he finally asked her to date him. She'd been too nervous to ask herself. She didn't want to ruin their life long friendship if Eric didn't return her feelings. So, when he had asked her, it had been like a dream. Before long she'd been given a promise ring and when they were old enough, they had a big wedding. He had then been selected for his unit direct from military school and less than a year later she had become pregnant courtesy of one of his few weeks of being on leave. And then he was gone, and her world had shattered. The next six years had gone by like a blur. The only lights were her family, the work she had done with her horse Demon and Molly. She had worked hard to get her teaching degree and had leapt at the chance of moving away. Her mother had told her that running away was not the answer. That it could potentially make things worse.

But then Molly had met the team and not long after they had bumped into Nosedive at the local park and her bubbly daughter had run over to say hello. Everything changed from that moment. She had become a sort of confidante for the youngest mighty duck. He had told her of the horrors he had seen in the camps on Puckworld, told her of how his brother's best friend had wanted to leave him behind to those same horrors. Despite the horrors the young drake had seen, he still tried to be happy for his brother. She had been told how hard he found it to be so up beat all the time but felt he needed to be, so his brother didn't think anything was wrong. He'd made her promise never to tell Wildwing if she ever met him and she had kept her promise. The two of them still went to the park on occasion with Molly so he could talk out his thoughts and feelings. She had thought of him as a surrogate brother long before she'd ever really met Wildwing.

Of course, then they did meet, at least sort of. That first meeting Nosedive hadn't even introduced them. She hadn't expected him to, given the mood he'd been in and had simply left the pair to talk. She knew how much Nosedive loved his brother and now knew the feeling was returned tenfold. Nosedive began inviting her and Molly over to skate at the pond, Wildwing had told her, months later, that it had been because Wildwing had been curious about them. Jessica had been flattered at the attention Wildwing had given her. She wasn't physically attracted to him at first, after all he was a different species and she was sure the feeling had been mutual. But he had been nice to talk to, was kind and considerate. He actually had manners, which was a rare find in human men these days. As their friendship had grown, so had the attraction. She had tried to deny it at first, trying to dismiss it as madness and likely to end up with Wildwing freaking out and their friendship ending. After a while though it just seemed right. She was comfortable with him, despite his differences, and he seemed to return her affection. She'd felt somewhat guilty about forcing him to pay out so much money the other day when she and the girls had a makeover. She hadn't actually thought that he would agree, but then he hadn't actually thought she would agree to take part in the public appearances either, so they were probably even on that point. The least she could do now is ensure that she went to as many of the stupid appearances as possible. Of course, she fully intended to have a talk to Phil about the types of appearances he organised. If she was going to have to take part then she was not about to do anything ridiculous and she was sure there were plenty of much better ways to raise money than dressing up in pizza costumes, among other things.

"Jess! Mary's here." Wildwing called as he entered their now shared room. He had a freshly ironed shirt draped over his arm which he put on the bed before he went to the wardrobe to pull out some of his nicer pants. Jessica finished washing the soap suds off of her body then tuned the shower off. She wringed out her hair a bit before stepping out of the shower and looked for a towel to dry off.

"Wing, where are all the towels?" Jessica asked as if talking to her daughter and not her boyfriend. Wildwing looked back at her then grabbed a fresh one from the top of the wardrobe shelf before tossing it to her.

"Sorry, must have forgotten to replace it." He said sheepishly, "Although I'm enjoying the view." He winked.

"Funny." Jess rolled her eyes and dried off her body before wrapping her hair up in the towel. She walked over to the wardrobe herself and bent down to get her shoes and then grabbed her dress, well aware that Wildwing was watching her every move. "I thought you weren't complaining." She gave him an evil grin as she held the dress behind her back and leaned into him a little. She smiled when she felt a reaction and instantly pulled away. "Down boy, we have places to be remember?" She said as she walked over to the bed and laid her dress beside his shirt and placed the shoes on the ground close by.

"Tease." Wildwing smirked.

"Like you're complaining." She winked. At that Wildwing laughed. He striped himself before hoping into the shower to wash before getting ready, he didn't need as much time as Jessica did. Jessica walked over to the dresser to pull out some of her fancier underwear. A strapless bra and lacy panties were pulled on. She then pulled out her hair dryer and removed the towel, so she could dry her hair ready to be styled. When she was satisfied her long hair was dry enough, she pulled out her makeup kit and put her makeup on before pulling on her dress when she was finished. She picked up her shoes and gave Wildwing, who was now out of the shower and getting dress, a peck on the cheek. "I'm going to go help Tanya with her makeup. See you in a bit." Wildwing smiled at her and watched her go before returning to getting ready for the evening.

"Do I look ok?" Tanya asked as she fussed with her dress. The blonde duck wore a dusty blue, floor length gown that hugged her upper body nicely but fanned out at her waist in a vintage style cut. The neckline was a sweetheart style and the sleeves were three quarter length. Jessica grinned at her.

"You look stunning Tanya!" She said honestly, "It really suits you! Now let's get your make up done before Mary does your hair!"

"Okay, just…ple..ple… I don't want you to make me look like a clown." Tanya said with slight embarrassment.

"Don't worry, with that dress, you don't want to glam it up." Jessica winked, "It's already pretty glam, so natural is the way to go!"

"Thanks Jess." Tanya said in relief. Before long, Tanya's make up was finished. Jessica had gone for a barely there look. It was a little odd working on someone who didn't need their lips done and all she really needed to work on were the eyelids and a bit of blush, so it didn't take long at all.

"Are you ladies ready or not?" Mary asked from the other side of the room where Mallory was checking her hair do in the mirror.

"This looks gorgeous Mary!" She said to the dark-skinned woman with a smile, "Thanks!" Mallory's hair had been curled at the ends, then a French braid had been created from her centre parting near her forehead, that ran across the left had side of her head and curved around to the other side, but stopping at the base of her head. From there her hair was a cascade of curls. It complimented the skin tight black dress she wore perfectly. Mallory pulled on her stilettoes and sat down on the rec room sofa to wait for the others to be ready. Tanya was last as Mary had planned something more complicated for her hair to match the dress she was wearing. The duck's hair was already in heated curlers to prepare for the style she had planned. So, Jessica took a seat where Mallory had previously been sitting and Mary set to work. She went for a simple style for Jessica. She started by pulling the straighteners through Jessica's long hair to make sure the majority of it look silky smooth. Then she got her curling tongs out again and began curling the ends into loose ringlets. The end result was a modern version of the sleeping beauty character from the Disney movie of the same name. Mary knew Jessica liked the movie as a child and knew Jessica would like it.

"As always, you are a miracle worker sis." Jessica grinned as she checked out her hair in the long mirror that had been set up in the rec room.

"I aim to please." Mary grinned. "And that style I could do in my sleep." Mary added with a wink.

"What time's Alex bringing the kids over?" Jessica asked knowing her brother had to work tonight and Wildwing had insisted that the children be watched in the pond where there was plenty of security to protect them should anyone get wind of Molly being left behind. Alex was working later on, so he had agreed to watch Toby whilst Mary did the girls' hair and pick up Molly from school. Of course, Molly would have finished school an hour ago.

"He called as I was on the way here." Mary said as she sat down a nervous looking Tanya. "Said he was going to take Molly out for some dinner before brining the kids here. He should be here before you guys go. Especially if he plans to be on time for work." Tanya was fidgeting in her seat nervously, so Mary placed a calming hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry Tanya. I will make sure your hair looks elegant as possible."

"There's a reason I don't usually do mu..much with my hair." Tanya said nervously, "It doesn't really do wh..what I ask it to very much."

"Try having Afro-Caribbean hair girl!" Mary winked, "Trust me when I say I know how to deal with difficult hair. Just try to stay as still as possible and let me work my magic okay?"

"Okay." Tanya relaxed a little but still looked somewhat nervous. Mary began taking the curlers out of Tanya's hair. She used her fingers to brush out the ends and loosen the curls a little before getting a handled comb and placing a pot of pins beside her. Mary careful pulled a couple of curls to lye over Tanya's face. Then she used the comb to brush the top half of Tanya's hair back into the centre. She then pinned the hair in place. She moved away for a moment to grab her hair spray before giving the styled portion a quick squirt to ensure what she had done stayed in place. She then began work on the remainder of Tanya's hair that hung in ringlets down her back. Mary made sure that the curls were all separated so she could achieve the style she wanted. The dress Tanya wore was a late 40s early 50s style and she wanted the hair to match. So, she took the ends of the hair and pinned them under the rest of her hair to create the illusion that the hair was suspended in place. The wave of the curls gave it a beautiful effect. Before she allowed Tanya to get up, Mary went over to her bag and rummaged through before producing two jewelled and pearled hair combs. She held them against Tanya's hair before shaking her head and going back to her bag. She then pulled out a comb that had white lotus flowers on, they were made out of some kind of pearlized material with jewels providing some sparkle to the white base. She again held this comb up to Tanya's hair them smiled before gently placing the comb into the hair where she had pinned the top half together. Tanya went to get up, but Mary stopped her again. Mary sprayed her hair again to within an inch of its life, making Tanya cough from the fumes a little then walked over to her bag one more time. She pulled out a slim and long box. She opened it to reveal a necklace with a white lotus blossom adorned with jewels around the edges and in the middle, that matched the comb perfectly.

"I picked these up when I was travelling in China." Mary explained as she placed the necklace around Tanya's neck. Tanya looked at it in awe, "Jess told me that you're not really one for dressing up, so I figured you might need me to bring some sparkle for you."

"I…I can't!" Tanya exclaimed, "They look so expensive, what if I lose them?!"

"Girl please!" Mary snorted, "They may be pretty, but they weren't expensive. If you lose them then you lose them. But they're yours to borrow and I won't be taking no for an answer!" Mary winked. She then picked up a smaller mirror and held it at an angle behind Tanya so that the woman could see what her hair looked like from behind. Tanya's eyes widened, and she was suddenly up with her arms around the smaller woman.

"Thank you!" She exclaimed in excitement and then pulled back in embarrassment. Behind them Mallory and Jessica looked at each other and smiled.

"Ladies," Mallory interrupted, "I say we are gonna steal the show tonight!"

"Hell yeah!" Jessica laughed in agreement.

"You girls are all knock outs!" Duke said from the doorway. Nosedive stood beside him with his beak agape. He approached Tanya and scrutinised her.

"Who are you and what did you do to our team tech?!" He asked in a jovial tone.

"Shut up Nosedive!" Tanya said but blushed profusely at the compliments. The ducks had been to premieres before, but Tanya had never made much of an effort. After all, with a glamour girl like Mallory on the team she hadn't seen the point. But she had to admit, she kind of liked getting dolled up. And she certainly liked the outcome.

"Come on! Come on, people!" Phil declared as he entered the rec room, now clean and de-feathered and in a clean suit, "Time is money!" He glanced at the women in the room and blinked, "Ladies! You all look great!" He exclaimed. "Just make sure that you stay looking that good for the cameras okay?" There was a unanimous rolling of eyes throughout the room just as the lift opened to reveal Alex with Toby in his pram and Molly at his side. Molly immediately ran over to her mother and gave her a hug.

"You look so pretty mom!" She said happily.

"Of course, she does!" Mary winked at her niece, "Your auntie Mary has worked her magic! I can make anyone look good! Even a tom boy like your mom."

"I can look feminine without your help you know." Jessica gave her sister in law a scathing look.

"Yeah, but not as good as I can make you look!" Mary quipped back.

"Ladies! We are going to be late!" Phil whined.

"Chill out Phil!" Nosedive wrapped his arm around his manager's shoulders, "It's fashionable to be late, right?"

"But if we're late then there won't be as much publicity!" Phil pointed out.

"All right guys, lets get going before Phil has a heart attack." Wildwing rolled his eyes at his manager's antics, "Or starts crying." The white drake added to Canard so that only his friend could hear, earning himself a snigger. He then turned to Mary, "You sure you're going to be okay with the kids?"

"Yes, I will be fine taking care of my son and my niece." Mary said in a teasing tone and a shake of her head.

"Thrash and the Mook miester said they'd be happy to come over and help if you want it." Dive said as he walked towards the hanger. Mary just rolled her eyes. Jessica gave her daughter one last hug and smirked at her sister in law.

"Any one would think they were the parents, right?" She said quietly earning a chuckle from Mary and her brother.

"Have a good time." Mary said.

"Should I tell the folks to turn on the tv for a change?" Alex smirked.

"Don't you dare!" Jessica glared at her brother then turned to her daughter, "You help your aunt Mary, you hear? Babies are hard work so no misbehaving ok?"

"Yes mom." Molly replied already settling down on the sofa and flicking through the channels on the big screen to find something to watch. Jessica looked back as a hand was felt on her shoulder.

"You ready?" Wildwing asked.

"As I'll ever be." She replied and allowed him to steer her towards the hanger.

The people who had invited them to the premiere had arranged for them to have access to the top of a multi-storey car park in order to land the aerowing close to the theatre. There would then be a limo waiting to take them the rest of the way to the premiere. It didn't take more than 20 minutes for the ducks to fly to their make shift landing point and before long they were pulling up outside of the movie theatre. There were hundreds of people lining the sidewalks around the red carpet, all screaming their appreciation of the celebrities showing up. As the ducks got out Jessica was almost overwhelmed by all the flashing from the cameras. She and Wildwing seemed to attract the most attention given their relationship, although they seemed quite interested in Mallory and Canard's relationship as well. Wildwing Steered Jessica through the crowds and managed to avoid any awkward questions from being answered.

"That was insane!" Jessica sighed in relief as they entered the foyer where there were still reporters, but they were far less enthusiastic than the ones who had been outside.

"Wow!" The ducks turned to see a young girl who Jessica recognised as a singer that her daughter liked listening to, "My manager said you guys might be coming! You guys are awesome!" She grinned. "I keep trying to persuade the old hag to let me have enough time off to check out one of your games in person, but she says I have better things to do." The girl moaned.

"Sounds like your manager is worse than ours!" Nosedive said smirking at Phil who made a face and pointed at himself as if to say he didn't know what Nosedive was on about. The singer laughed.

"Ha ha, mine's not here, thankfully." She told them, "She manages a lot of other singers too and I'm one of the less ill-mannered ones, so I get to come to these things alone. Any one else she makes sure she can be there to keep an eye on them."

"You're Kayla Rae, right?" Jessica asked.

"That's me!" She replied happily brushing a pink curl out of her face.

"My daughter listens to your stuff." Jessica smiled, "She won't be impressed when she finds out I met you!" Jessica laughed.

"Oh, haha, cool." Kayla smiled then reached into her purse, "Well I can always arrange for some goodies to be sent her way if that helps." Kayla said kindly. "Just tell me where to send them." She beamed and held out a pen and paper.

"You keep giving out freebies kid, you're never gonna make it big in this biz." A man stood not far behind Kayla told her.

"Hey, my dad always said to treat your fans like they're your friends and they'll treat you good too!" She stuck her chin out defiantly at the older man that Jessica recognised from somewhere but couldn't quite place.

"Stupid kid. Give it ten years and you'll be working in a fast food joint." He stalked off and Kayla glared after him.

"Who was that?" Tanya asked glaring at the retreating form.

"Oh, he's an actor that doesn't get cast so much anymore." Kayla told them, "From what I hear he's a major pain in the ass to work with and usually turns up drunk to set. So, no one will work with him."

"Don't people like that bother you?" Duke asked, "I know it does us."

"Nah, he's just bitter." Kayla told him, "And I'm in this for the performing, not the fame. I like making people happy with my music. I know that's kinda corny, but I only got the chances I did cause of my parents, so…" People started moving in the direction of the screen that the movie was showing in and she grinned at them, "Looks like the movie's about to start! You guys going to the after party?"

"Of course!" Phil answered for them earning a couple of glares from some of his team.

"Cool, well I'll see you there!" She jogged off to the side of a guy around her age with black hair that had blood red tips and entered the screen room with him.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14:**

The ducks weren't all that keen on the celebrity lifestyle, but they did enjoy the company and commentary provided by Kayla at the party thrown once the movie was over. It was held in a hotel not far from the theatre and Kayla and Evan, who they learned was her boyfriend, had quickly sought them out to chat some more. It turned out the pink haired girl had grown up in the lime light. Her father had been a very well-known actor and her mother a signer. She had of course grown up on movie sets and behind the scenes at concerts. She had gone to a school of performing arts and had loved music a lot. After a while, Phil had insisted that the ducks go mingle with the other celebrities. Kayla had laughed at their manager but had understood and they had parted ways for a while.

Wildwing and Jessica had slipped out of a doorway onto a small balcony for a moment of privacy. Wildwing stood behind her with his arms around her whilst they looked up at the stars. Jessica rested her hands on his arms and leaned back into his warmth.

"I'm beginning to see why you guys don't like the whole publicity thing." Jessica said, "They're so nosey!"

"You're only just noticing that?" Wildwing asked with a chuckle.

"One of the reporters asked me about our sex life!" Jessica made a face, "I mean, talk about rude."

"Yeah, they are good at the inappropriate questions." Wildwing laughed. "What did you say?" He asked curiously.

"I told him you like S and M."

"Excuse me?" Wildwing blinked.

"Of course, I didn't, but that look on your face was priceless!" She laughed. Wildwing growled at her the reached down to tickle her sides.

"Bad girls need to be punished." He teased as he continued to tickle her mercilessly.

"Stop it!" She managed through her laughter. Wildwing complied but still had an evil grin on his face.

"We should probably go back inside before your loveable manager panics and thinks you've been kidnapped or something." Jess said with a sigh.

"As much as I'd rather stay out here with you, I guess you're right." Wildwing took her hand and they walked back into the building and the party. The white drake frowned when he spotted two of the people working the party acting suspiciously. They seemed to be having some sort of argument. One was trying to reach into the trolley they had been pushing. Was something hidden beneath the cotton cloth draped over it? His hand instinctively tightened around Jessica's and he manoeuvred his body so that if anything did happen, he would be in their way.

"Something wrong?" Jessica asked quietly.

"I'm not sure yet." Wildwing said quietly as he steered her towards Canard and Mallory. "Canard." His friend looked at him, "See anything suspicious about the pair at 2 o'clock?" He asked his friend. Canard and Mallory looked at each other, then casually made out that they were looking for someone in particular. Thankfully their new friend Kayla was stood near to the pair in question and it wasn't hard to get her attention whilst also checking out the servers. The pair had stopped arguing now but the one who had been wanting to reach into his trolley did not look happy and was scanning the area looking incredibly agitated.

"I've got to admit," Canard turned so he was no longer looking in the pair's direction, "They do look like they're up to something." Mallory noticed that the calmer of the pair looked at his watch then reached into his pocket. With a nod at his companion he pulled out whatever it was in his pocket and the other reached into his trolley and pulled out a semi-automatic. Large explosions from somewhere below them rocked the building. There was a pregnant pause before people started screaming.

"Everyone! Get down!" Mallory bellowed over the din. Everything suddenly felt like it was moving in slow motion. Wildwing grabbed Jessica and threw her behind the nearest table for cover. Duke appeared with Phil over his shoulder and deposited him next to Jessica. The shots began firing and people began screaming in earnest and dashing for cover. Those not fast enough fell to the ground clutching wounds or simply dead. Jessica glanced at Phil who was cowering in an almost foetal position. The ducks had attempted to get themselves between the survivors and the shooters as best they could.

"Jess!" Mallory caught the blonde's attention before tossing a spare blaster at her. "Just in case!" The red head yelled with a wink. Jessica smiled gratefully at her before noticing Phil was raising his head to take a peak over the table. She growled and pushed his head back down.

"What do you people want?!" Wildwing bellowed once the enemy had stopped firing for a few moments and the remaining people in the room had all taken cover.

"Want?" The one who seemed to have been in charge asked, "We want you dead, freaks! You and these leeches!" He indicated to the celebrities.

"Great. More nut jobs!" Mallory grumbled.

"Nut jobs who have just hurt innocent people to get to get what they want!" Wildwing growled at her under his breath, "We need to stop them before anyone else gets hurt! And insulting them is not going to help this situation."

"I second that bro." Nosedive glared at the men in front of them. To their left were Kayla and Evan. They'd been hit, and neither were moving. The sooner they stopped this nightmare the sooner they could see if they and the other injured could be saved. Wildwing glanced at his brother, all too aware that Tanya had yet to sign him off as ready to go back into combat. They didn't really have a choice right now, but he was going to make sure that Nosedive was not in the front line at any point. Of course, he hadn't realised that he had instinctively taken over.

Canard stayed silent as he listened to his friend take charge effortlessly. Mallory hadn't even grumbled when he had scolded her. And even he could see his intelligent friend working out a plan in his head as he surveyed the situation laid before him. Of course, Canard had a plan himself, but it involved simply charging the pair with guns blazing. He supposed that was why Mallory and he got on so well, they were on the same wavelength. But Wildwing was different. He took everything into consideration before making a plan. He always did, even when they were planning to get Nosedive back for whatever prank the kid had played on them as kids. Canard was sure that Wildwing was figuring out a way to bring these creeps down with as little danger to the innocent people still cowering in the room they were in, and he'd do it without killing the shooters. Something he and Mallory would be more than willing to do in order to save the rest of these people. Even if it meant that the stray shots might hurt some of the survivors hiding around the room.

"Duke, be ready." Wildwing narrowed his eyes. Canard blinked, Duke simply nodded at his friend as if Duke knew exactly what Wildwing was thinking. Duke reached behind his back to a compartment in this belt. Wildwing glanced at Grin and Tanya who also nodded. Canard felt way out of the loop. He was beginning to realise why Duke had tried to reason with him after he had announced that he would be taking over again. "What are you going to do when you've finished everyone in this room off, exactly?"

"Well..I..We.." The pair looked at each other for a moment.

"Hadn't thought that far ahead huh?" Wildwing studied them carefully. To his right, Duke had already made his way around the room, the older drake had checked on a fallen celebrity to make it look like he wasn't trying to get closer to the shooters. He had done his best to help the person with the said celebrity to stem the bleeding a little and gave some comforting words before turning his attention back to the shooters. Tanya and Grin carried out a similar ruse. Canard noticed Mallory moving back towards Phil and Jessica and had to wonder if Wildwing had somehow signalled her too. He couldn't be sure and didn't have time to figure it out as Wildwing suddenly activated his ice shield and charged the shooters, not once firing a shot. Duke moved quicker than the eye could see and soon had the shooter closest to him disarmed and in a headlock. Tanya fired a shot at the second and the gun flew into the air. Grin caught the pistol and crushed it. The behemoth then proceeded to pick the remaining shooter by the wrist. The shooter began to struggle but Grin merely grabbed the man's other hand and lowered him to the ground. Once there he forced the man's arms to his sides and allowed Tanya to tie him up.

"Nice work team." Wildwing turned to Tanya, "See if you can help anyone. Someone call down to the authorities and let them know it's safe to bring up the EMTs." He said to no one in particular as he walked back to Jessica's hiding place. "You okay?"

"I'm fine!" Phil said a little too loudly to be true, "I'm fine!" He almost whooped as he felt his body for bullet holes. Wildwing just shook his head in disbelief and held his hand out to Jessica who rolled her eyes at the overweight manager.

"Are you ok?" Wildwing repeated himself pulling her closer and resting his cheek on hers.

"Thanks to you," Jessica replied quietly, more than a little shaken up at the ending of their evening, "But what about all these people?" She stared around the room and her eyes settled on Kayla. "Oh god! Is she...?" Wildwing looked over his shoulder sadly at the young girl who had been so friendly. He wasn't sure if she was alive or not but there was a lot of blood around her. The EMTs were already piling into the room together with several police officers and the injured were being assessed, whilst the dead were being counted.

"Let's get you out of here." Wildwing said as he shielded her from seeing what was happening with Kayla. He Steered her out of the room and away from the carnage.

It was lunchtime of the following day before they returned to the pond. There had been many questions to answer, statements to give. When they had returned, it was to find that Alex had returned to the pond after his shift at the hospital, he and his family had stayed in the spare room that had been set up for them when Jessica had been in danger. Mary had been making lunch when they had returned, and the ducks had been grateful that she had thought to make enough for all of them. Everyone had eaten in near silence save for some small talk and then they had all gone their separate ways. They had already agreed to wait to discuss the previous nights' actions until after they had all rested.

Canard however was wired and no matter what he did, he couldn't sleep. He eventually rolled out of bed, being careful not to disturb a slumbering Mallory. He slipped on some gym pants and quietly made his way to the gym. He needed to burn off some excess energy, although he had no idea where he'd got it from. The human kid they had spoken to at the party was in critical condition and it wasn't sure if she would survive her injuries. Her boyfriend was pronounced dead at the scene. Nine others were also pronounced dead at the scene. Twenty were severely injured and taken to hospital, whilst a further ten had minor injuries. The press had gone wild when they had got wind of the fact the they had effectively stopped a terrorist attack. Of course, if they find out that the reason for the attack was partly due to their presence, he wasn't sure what would happen.

He blinked as the punching bag he had been pounding suddenly split. He hadn't even realised he was hitting the thing that hard. He sighed and began the task of cleaning up the mess that was caused. Once that was done he settled for some weight training. He zoned out as he concentrated on the physical activity and didn't notice someone had entered the room.

"Wildwing said you liked to push yourself too far with those things." Canard jumped and looked back whilst the bar ball was suspended in the air above him. "Aren't you supposed to have someone to spot you when you lift that kind of weight?" Jessica raised an eyebrow as she walked over to the running machine, clearly not as concerned as his best friend would be.

"I can handle it." Canard placed the bar bell back on the holder and sat up to look at her. "What are you doing in here." He asked suspiciously.

"I can't sleep." She replied with a shrug as she stretched out her muscles.

"Yeah, I figured that." He replied flatly, "But what are you doing in here." Jessica stopped at looked back at him.

"You people aren't the only ones who like to work out you know." She replied just as flatly as he replied to her. "I was just going to try and burn off some energy. That ok with you?" Canard rolled his eyes at the very Nosedive'esque response from the woman.

"No need to get snippy." He said as he lay back down to start lifting the bar bell again.

"Snippy?!" Jessica snorted at him, "You're the one who seems to be implying I shouldn't be in here! What is your problem with me anyway?" Canard stopped before he had even grasped the bar and sat back up again with a confused look on his face.

"Why would you think I have a problem with you?" He asked curious.

"Oh please!" Jessica snapped feeling a little defensive and not really sure why. "I know you don't like me. I have always tried to be nice to you because I know Wildwing thinks you're this amazing guy, but you barely speak to me and when you do it's normally to ask me why I'm doing something. Quite frankly I'm getting bored of it." Canard merely looked at her, not really sure how to respond. After a moment's pause she let out a growl and began to storm off.

"Wait a minute!" Canard called after her and she stopped in the doorway, "Now where are you going?"

"For a run!" Jessica replied, "I hadn't really felt like going out to run before but suddenly it feels like the better option!" With that she stalked out of the room. Canard inwardly groaned to himself. He never was that good with people. Not like Wildwing was. He got up and jogged after the woman. He caught the elevator door before it could close to take her up to the ground floor levels and glared at her. He took some steadying breaths before talking to her.

"Listen, I don't particularly like you. But then again I don't know you all that well either." He began.

"And who's fault is that?" She said under her breath with her eyes rolling and her arms crossed in anger.

"Mine." Canard admitted with a hint of anger at her behaviour towards him, "You act way too much like Nosedive for my liking. You can be a brat, despite your age and yet you are still liked by everyone!" Jessica blinked at him in surprise. Was he jealous of her? Was he jealous of Nosedive? "It was the same when we were kids with Nosedive. I worked hard to get the best grades I could, if it wasn't for Wildwing's help I never would have got the grades to get accepted onto the hockey team, let alone to military college later on! I worked hard on my game play to deserve my spot on the school hockey team. And then there was Wing's kid brother. He was loved by everyone and he even skipped a few grades of school he was so bright. He acts stupid, but he's actually pretty smart. It came easy for him. Even when he snuck along with Wildwing to hang out with us and the other older kids, it was only me that couldn't stand him. No. That's not right. I don't think I hated him I…"

"Hey." Jessica got his attention. "Instead of discussing this here, where anyone could walk in on us, which will likely just embarrass you, why don't we go get a coffee or something?" Canard was surprised. She'd just been mad at him and now the woman was asking him to go get a coffee with her. "Well?" She half smiled at his shock.

"Um. Okay." He said and removed his hand from the elevator door to make his way in. He followed her in silence to a small café close to Captain Comics. It was nearing closing time, so it was pretty empty. Jessica greeted the woman behind the counter and the woman asked if Jessica wanted her regular order. She then turned to Canard expectantly who just ordered a regular coffee with no extras. Jessica then led him to a corner of the café, near the back of the premises. There was a small round table place in front of some corner sofas. Jessica took a seat and indicated that he should join her.

"So, school was tough for you then?" She asked him.

"The actual academic stuff yes." Canard replied.

"But you still got into college?" He nodded at her question, "Did you scrape in or…?"

"I got top grades." He replied, "So did Wildwing."

"So, it can't have been that hard then." Jessica raised a brow.

"I had to work my ass off to get those grades!" Canard almost pouted and Jessica had to stop herself from sniggering. She filed the look to memory and made a mental note to ask Mallory if he had a habit of pouting when he was uncomfortable about talking about a certain subject. "And I wouldn't have got them without Wildwing's help. He always made out it was all me too. Wildwing was a much better student that I ever was. He's really something."

"Well on that we can agree." Jessica winked and took a sip of her latte. "So, Nosedive was both popular and smart enough to skip a couple of grades huh?"

"Yeah." Canard frowned, "His mom was so proud of him, Wildwing too. Usually the overly smart kids are bullied but not Nosedive. He could make a friend out of anyone."

"You know that's not his fault, right?" Jessica watched him carefully as her question was posed.

"I know!" Canard snapped. "That doesn't make him any less annoying."

"You don't perhaps think the lack of bullying might have had something to do with Wildwing do you?" Jessica then asked, still watching him as she sipped her latte.

"We weren't in the same schools," Canard shrugged, "but I know our group of friends would have had to have been crazy to pick on him. At least not so Wildwing would find out."

"Did you ever pick on him?" Jessica asked. The tan mallard glanced at her sheepishly. "I'll take that as a yes." She said with a hint of disapproval in her voice.

"Oh, like you've never been an ass to someone at school." Canard definitely did pout at her this time.

"I had better things to do." Jessica replied.

"Oh really? Like what?" He finished off his drink and placed the empty mug on the table.

"Well, I have a best friend too and she's the best mechanic in shy town." Jessica said with a grin, "I was usually testing out her latest build. Landed me in hospital a few times actually." She laughed at the memories, "Me and Charlie were the odd balls of the school. We did relatively well at most classes, but we certainly weren't scholars. Eric was always planning to go into military school at some point, much to his mom's displeasure. We were the ones who weren't afraid of the bullies and usually stuck up for the underdogs instead of chasing the popular kids."

"Sounds like you were just the type Wildwing would have gone for in school anyway." Canard chuckled despite himself.

"What do you mean?"

"Wildwing never dated much before the invasion." Canard smirked at the memories, "It was hilarious some of the girls he did date, though. He got so much flack for some of them."

"How so?"

"Well there was this one chick that could barely speak without giggling." Canard smirked at the memory, "She seemed to be able to speak to him normally though and they seemed pretty close until she had to move away. Then they just grew apart. Then there was this crazy chick who seemed to have a death wish. I preferred more normal ducks personally."

"Normalcy is overrated." Jessica shrugged.

"If you say so." Canard stared at his empty mug.

"Did he ever catch you?"

"Huh?" Canard looked back up at her.

"Did Wildwing ever catch you bullying his little brother?" Jessica elaborated.

"Once." Canard admitted.

"What did he do?" Jessica smirked, pretty sure she knew the answer.

"Let's just say I had a black eye for over a week and his mom grounded him for three." Canard smirked.

"Why did his mom ground him?" Jessica made a face.

"Wildwing wouldn't tell her why he punched me." The tan drake shrugged, "I'm willing to bet that, if he had, she would never have grounded him."

"Any idea why he wouldn't tell her?" Jessica asked. As she noticed the woman at the counter closing the coffee shop, "We'd better make a move." She added. Canard glanced over his shoulder and got to his feet. The pair headed back towards the pond and she turned to him, "You didn't answer my question." She urged.

"What question?" Canard asked thinking back to their earlier conversation in the café and it hit him, "Oh! I think it's because his mom liked me and if she thought I'd been mean to her youngest, then she would have been pretty upset. Wildwing's wrath is bad but hers is even worse."

"Sounds like me and their mom would get on." Jessica laughed.

"Yeah, I think you would." Canard replied as they entered the pond. Jessica's com beeped, and she answered it.

"You okay?" Canard heard Wildwing ask Jessica, sounding slightly panicked.

"I'm fine." Jessica replied, "Just went out for some coffee is all."

"Is Canard with you?" He went on to ask.

"That he is." She replied looking at the tan duck who suddenly looked nervous for some reason, "He's been regaling me with childhood stories about you both." She smirked at the reaction she got from Canard at her statement.

"I'm almost afraid to ask." Wildwing chuckled.

"We're just making our way down to base level now." Canard piped up.

"Sure. Well so long as you guys are okay." Wildwing replied over the com unit before signing off. Jessica began walking off in the direction of the duck's secret elevator.

"Hey, Jess!" Canard called after her feeling some momentary déjà vu as he did. She stopped and turned in his direction, "Listen, I'm not sure we'll ever get along that well, but Wildwing cares about you. A lot. So, you can't be all bad. Mallory has already chewed me out enough times about the way I speak to you and some of the others," Jess raised her brows in amusement at that, "Wildwing too for that matter. I'm working on it, I just… Sometimes I forget myself is all."

"I can tell." Jessica laughed, "Now you listen to me." She waited until she was sure she had his attention, "I had to work hard in school too. My brother didn't. He graduated early and followed his dream, as he should. I had moments of being jealous, sure, but it was way too much hassle to fall out with him. For one thing, my dad would have tanned my hide if I'd picked on him. I get that you were probably jealous," Canard looked as if he wanted to object but she pushed on, "and I get that you're the type to deny any form of jealousy. But here's the thing, You're an adult now. You're not a teen at school anymore. And from what Wildwing has told me, you have plenty to be proud of." Canard looked surprised at that, "You found that mask on your face, didn't you?" She indicated to DuCaine's mask. "And the way Wildwing tells it, no one even knew it existed. So, you must have spent a lot of time figuring out where that thing was. And with the devastation described to me, finding any reference to the thing can't have been easy."

"And yet Wildwing still insisted that Nosedive came along." Canard grumbled.

"Can you blame him?" Jessica asked.

"What I had planned could have ended up with us all dead." He pointed out.

"And how long do you think Nosedive would have lasted if you'd left him in a work camp?" Jessica asked, "I mean if they were anything like the ones used in Nazi Germany, that would have been a death sentence anyway."

"But he would have had a chance!" Canard insisted.

"Would he? I've known Dive just a little longer than I've known Wing." She explained, "He opened up to me about some of the stuff that happened when the pair of them were slaves. It wasn't pretty and it still haunts him. And, Wildwing won't appreciate me for telling you this, but even Wing still wakes up thanks to nightmares from that time. If you ask me, separating the pair would have destroyed the both of them."

"I would have..." Canard tried to object.

"You would have what?" Jessica put her hands on her hips, "Would have pulled your friend through?" She shook her head, "Canard, I know you can be a nice guy when you want to be, but you are an idiot when it comes to those brothers."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Canard snapped.

"I don't think you'd get it if I tried to explain it to you." She said, "But, to put it simply, Wildwing and Nosedive will always be close no matter what anyone does. You said he didn't date much, but most of the girls were odd?"

"Yeah."

"So, I'm guessing there were one or two girls he dated that were what you would consider normal?!" She emphasised the word normal with air quotes.

"There was Sandie and Trixie." Canard shrugged.

"And did they last long?" Jessica asked with an amused look.

"Not really." He admitted.

"Did they get on with Nosedive?" She continued, and he was beginning to see what she was getting at.

"No, they found him annoying and would always try to get Wildwing to ditch him." Canard said.

"You are probably the only person from his past, who he hasn't ditched that didn't get on with his little brother. And I'm guessing that's because he's known you since before Nosedive came along. Am I right?" She looked at him with a somewhat smug look on her face.

"Yeah." Canard came to a realisation. If he had been anyone else, Wildwing would never have continued his friendship with him. "You know I'm beginning to see why he's so fond of you. You're pretty smart. He always did prefer a woman with brains. Used to say the stupid ones would give him a headache." Jessica laughed at him. "Just do me a favour okay?"

"What's that?" Jess punched in the passcode to reveal the elevator.

"Take care of him." The tan duck requested, "He needs someone to worry about him for a change. You know, other than his brother."

"As long as he wants me around, I'll do just that." She smiled and they both entered the elevator to go back down to the base level.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15:**

 **So, I have raised the rating of the story to be safe, it gets a little bit adult in this chapter. I hope you're all enjoying my little fic. Please leave a review if you are. xx**

Nosedive laughed at the look Wildwing gave his girlfriend as she finally exited the bathroom at the convention centre. Jessica hadn't been planning on wearing a cosplay for the event at first, but then Nosedive had been told where his party was going to be, the youngest mighty duck, together with Thrash and Mookie had persuaded her to go in costume. Especially when Wildwing had let slip that she had been a cosplayer back in college. When she had explained that she didn't have any of her costumes anymore and that she wasn't sure that she would even be able to fit into some of them anyway, the trio had insisted that they should either buy her one or help her make a new one. She had eventually given in but had said that she didn't have time to make anything impressive and would need to pick up her sewing machine from her attic in her currently empty house. Nosedive and the other teens had eagerly assisted her in getting the gear she needed. Thrash and Mookie had offered a room above the comic store that wasn't used as a work room. Nosedive had seconded the idea saying she should keep it a secret from Wildwing. Jessica had laughed and set to work at choosing a relatively simple cosplay to make that she would be happy with for the convention. She had also decided to make Molly's outfit as well. The little girl desperately wanted to be Chun Li from Street Fighter. And she had already bought the fabric she had wanted for the costume, of course she'd thought she would have plenty of time to make the little cosplay, but now she had to make her own, she was running behind. She finally decided on Ms Marvel's blue costume with the lightening bolt as she wouldn't need a wig and it wouldn't take too much time to make it.

She had set to work on Molly's first as that was the most detailed cosplay that she would need to make. And before long she had a cosplay for her daughter to wear and was only waiting on the mini knee-high boots to arrive that had been ordered. Molly wouldn't wear a wig, but was happy to be a blond Chun Li. Then she had gone out to get what she needed for her own costume. The only thing she had to order in was the materials she planned to use to make the mask. Wildwing had complained that she was spending way too much time locked away a few times, but Nosedive had taken his brother to the side and explained that he would definitely like the result of the long hours spent in the comic store's spare room. Nosedive was right. His brother couldn't take his eyes off the figure hugging cosplay that Jessica was wearing. She looked every bit the comic book super hero and he was pretty sure his brother would be fighting the geeks off her! Molly squealed in excitement as she jumped about trying to pull off Chun Li worthy kicks and punches. Thrash and Mookie laughed with him at her antics but Wildwing was oblivious until Molly had tugged his shirt and asked him what he thought.

"You look great." He smiled still looking at Jessica, but Molly had taken that as a genuine response to her. Jessica had chuckled at her daughter and moved closer to Wildwing seductively.

"Glad you like it." She winked then grabbed his wrist, passed him her shoulder bag and began dragging him towards the dealer's halls.

"Let's have some fun!" Nosedive yelled. He had simply shown up in his battle gear, less his blaster in respect of the convention security. Thrash was dressed as a Jedi and Mookie was dressed as slave Leia, complete with a styled wig and all the accessories. Unlike Jessica and Molly, the other two humans had travelled to the convention in costume and had revelled in the attention they got.

"Oh my gosh!" Someone cried after about ten minutes of checking out what the dealers had to offer, "Goldilocks cosplay?!" The same voice asked as they got closer. It was a cosplayer dressed as belle from beauty and he beast and people were having to give her a wide birth to avoid the massive skirt that formed part of the dress. "I haven't seen you in ages Jess!" The girl leaned forward and hugged Jessica. Jessica grinned and smiled back.

"Life happened and I kind of stopped for a while." She shrugged. "How are you Busy Bee?"

"So good!" She replied happily, "I managed to get a contract as a costume designer for film sets. Dream come true cause it means I can get paid for my favourite hobby! How about you?"

"Oh, I was a teacher till recently." She shrugged. "I'm coaching a junior hockey team right now."

"Oh, I remember you saying you played a bit of hockey!" The girl Jessica had called Busy Bee replied then looked at the group she was with, "Wait… Oh I am such an idiot! I saw something on the news about a Jessica, but I always knew you as Goldilocks, so I guess it didn't click! You have so many girls super jealous of you, you know." Wildwing raised an eyebrow at her words but didn't say anything, but did jab his brother in the ribs when it looked like he was going to make a comment. To his credit Nosedive kept quiet. "So, you gonna introduce me or what?"

"Oh Sure," Jessica blushed slightly at not having thought to do so before, "Guys this is Busy Bee Cosplay, we all call her Busy Bee but her real name is Beatrice. Bee this is Thrash, Mookie, Nosedive, my daughter Molly and my boyfriend Wildwing." She pointed to each as she introduced them and each waved as their name was mentioned.

"How'd you know my mom?" Molly stepped forward to speak to Bee. Bee bent at the waist and rested her hands on her skirts just above where her knees would be.

"We used to know each other from events like this." She told Molly, "The last time I saw her she was pregnant with you and some of the cosplays she came up with to include her bump were both hilarious and sometimes creepy!" Bee laughed.

"That I have to see!" Nosedive grinned.

"Well her page is still up, why don't you take a look?" She winked.

"Goldilocks cosplay?" Mookie asked to clarify. Bee nodded, and Jessica groaned as the trio all took out their phones to find the page. It wasn't very good by today's standards and neither were her cosplays.

"You guys here all weekend?" Bee asked.

"Yeah," Wildwing replied with a friendly tone, "It's my brother's birthday. He wanted to come so I treated him and his friends."

"Damn!" Bee blinked at him, "Wish my brother was that generous! I'm lucky to get a card on my birthday from mine and he's loaded!" She laughed. "Say! You guys should come along to the VIP party tonight!" Bee suggested, "It's only meant for guests but I can pull a few strings." She winked.

"Wait you're a guest here?!" Jessica asked.

"Well they seem to think I'm guest material now I'm a costume designer for films." She again winked.

"Cool. Only thing is, we don't have anyone to watch Molly, so the others can go but I'll have to stay behind."

"Oh no problem!" Bee grinned, "My mom is here to look after my little monster. So, you can just leave Molly with her!" She paused as she became unsure, "Unless you'd rather not. Sorry I still get ahead of myself sometimes."

"That's ok." Jessica smiled, "Would you be okay with that Molly?"

"I guess." Molly replied, "Can't I go with you all?" She asked hopefully.

"Sorry kid," Bee replied, "Over 16s only I'm afraid."

"All right." She then got an evil glint in her eye, "Can I get a movie to watch then?" She asked hopefully.

"I guess we can agree to that." Jessica laughed, "But it has to be kid friendly. I don't want you disturbing Bee's mom!"

"Hah! I'm an anime fan! Nothing disturbs my mom these days!" Bee laughed. "Oh, I have a talk to do! Meet me in the lobby at 6 and I'll show you where the party is!" She yelled to them over the crowds as she rushed away from them.

"See you then!" Jess called after her old friend.

"Anime?" Wildwing frowned.

"Yeah, you know," Nosedive grinned, "It's cartoons but made in Japan."

"They dub them into all sorts of different languages and some of the dubs are hilarious!" Mookie giggled.

"Yeah but who has the time or the energy to read the subs?" Jessica asked surprising the teens. She winked then turned as someone asked if someone could get a picture of her and Molly in their cosplays. She advised molly to do her best Chun Li pose and did a pose herself. The same person asked Thrash and Mookie for theirs before turning to the ducks then looking incredibly shy and almost turning away. "You want me to take a picture of you with them." Jessica received a withering look from her boyfriend, but the woman looked so excited at the prospect of the picture and she wasn't throwing herself at them like most fans did. The girl was in a frilly outfit with a curly wig on and she stood between the brothers with her hands in front of her and an adorable smile on her face which brightened further when Nosedive placed an arm around the fan's shoulders and made a peace sign for the camera. Jessica took a few snaps for her then passed her back the camera. The girl looked at them then back up at the group.

"Thank you so much!" She beamed then walked off looking through the shots on her camera again.

"Well that was the most reserved fan I've ever come across." Wildwing admitted.

"She's a geek." Jessica explained, "She strikes me as the type that started cosplaying as a confidence thing and is still trying to find her confidence."

"Are they all like that?" Wildwing asked as they started moving again. Molly was holding his right hand and skipping beside him whilst Jessica had her arm in his left. Dive and his friends chatted behind them.

"Not all of them." Jessica informed him, "Some of them are a lot more like your regular fans. You know, screaming, overexcited…"

"Terrifying." Wildwing finished with a shudder.

"Oh, they're not that bad!" Jessica said then caught his incredulous look, "Are they?"

"Hey Dive?" Wildwing inclined his head behind him to where his brother and his friends were following them.

"Yeah bro?"

"Are our fans that bad?" Wildwing asked using air quotes to accentuate the last of his sentence.

"Dude you did read that creepy fan letter I got the other day, right?" Nosedive shook his head as if to rid himself of the memory.

"Really?" Jessica asked looking from one Flashblade to another receiving a nod, "Huh, and here I figured you guys being crime fighters would scare off the creepers."

"I wish it did." Wildwing admitted.

"Yeah, you've even started getting fan mail you…Ow!" Nosedive rubbed the spot on the back of his head where his brother had smacked him.

"I told you she didn't need to know about that!" Wildwing hissed.

"Didn't need to know about what?" Jessica looked at them both suspiciously. Thrash and Mookie also looked at the brothers, curious to know what they were going on about.

"It's nothing." Wildwing replied, "Hey I see a DVD stall over there, why don't we…"

"No, I want to know." Jessica glared at him angrily with her arms crossed, "What have you been keeping from me Wildwing Flashblade?"

"Jess I…" Wildwing tried to think of something to say and sent an accusatory glare at his brother who just shrugged.

"Told you she'd be pissed if you kept stuff from her." Nosedive said with a shrug.

"Oh thanks bro." Wildwing snapped, "And don't curse in front of Molly!" Wing added irritably.

"Don't you blame him for this!" Jessica scolded, "Now answer the question. Why did you not want me to know about the fan mail? And don't make me get this from your brother Wildwing." Wildwing did not like being at the mercy of Jessica's temper at all. She'd been pissed at him once or twice, but it had always been over something small.

"Yes, you've started receiving fan mail. Phil receives all the fan mail that comes to the pond and when some started coming for you he told me about it first. Some of them were okay but some were pretty scary. It was during that whole stalking incident with Zachery and I didn't think you needed to know at that point. Then when it had blown over, I never … I mean I… I just thought it was something you didn't need to know."

"Do you still have them?" Jessica asked.

"They're in a file in Phil's office I think. He keeps everything received for any of us for at least 6 months in case any of them can be used as evidence if something happens to one of us. He normally shows us the nice ones and either we or he replies to them for us. But he kept all of yours, mainly because I was going to tell you and you would have been able to respond to them yourself if you'd wanted." He took a deep breath and realised that he'd rushed through that like a naughty child explaining his bad behaviour to his mother. He chanced a glance at Jessica who was still glaring at him.

"You do realise that opening someone else's mail is a crime, right?" Jessica asked him.

"Yes." Wildwing replied dejectedly, "But I was trying to spare you from anymore worry at the time, I swear!"

"I am still pissed at you," She glanced at her daughter who giggled at her choice of language, "Do not repeat that word till you're at least 16 missy," Then she looked back at Wing, "As for you, when we get back, I want to see every letter. Is that clear?"

"But…" Wildwing tried to protest unaware that Nosedive was trying not to double over with laughter at how his tough big brother was being owned by the blonde human.

"Every letter!" She demanded, "And I am to receive anything else sent to me whether or not you consider them to be disturbing. I deserve to know if I am in danger and I have a right to decide that myself as well! Am I making myself perfectly clear?"

"Yes ma'am." Wildwing sighed and looked down at the floor.

"Besides," Jessica cupped his cheek and urged him to look at her, "Zachery is locked away in a federal prison. The only time we will ever see each other again is when I testify in military court against him. Plus, Molly and I aren't on our own any more. I trust you to keep us safe, but you don't have to keep things from me to do that."

"She's got a point bro!" Nosedive said, "Plus, she took down that Zachery jerk by herself and saved your ass in the end so any of our regular creepers wouldn't stand a chance against her." He winked at Jessica.

"I'm sorry." Wildwing said nuzzling Jessica's cheek.

"Ewe!" Molly giggled and ran to Nosedive, "Help Dive, they're gonna spread their cooties!" She continued to giggle, and the trio of young adults joined her.

"Careful Molly, or I might change my mind about that movie." Jessica gave her daughter a side long glance.

"Aw ease off," Nosedive said, "it kinda grosses me out too when you guys get all cutesy like that." He smirked at them.

"Cutesy!" Wildwing looked offended and Jessica laughed. "How am I being cutesy?"

"Come on. Let's find Molly her movie and take in some more of the convention." Jessica said pushing him in the direction they had been going before they had been stopped for a photo.

"How am I cutesy?" Wildwing asked Jessica quietly as they again walked ahead of the teens, this time though Molly walked with Nosedive. Jessica just laughed at him and told him not to be so sensitive.

They spent the rest of the day checking out the convention centre, it had spread pretty quickly that two of the mighty ducks were in attendance and after a while one of the organisers approached them to ask if they wanted special passes to the after party as one of the guests had asked if they could attend. The group had thanked the man who handed them special wrist bands for the entire group which would get them priority entrance the following day as well. After many requests for pictures and lots of people asking the ducks and their friends questions the group made their way back up to the hotel part of the convention centre. Wildwing had hired two family rooms, knowing that Dive would only spend the time playing video games or reading comics, with his friends for the night till they all dropped from exhaustion anyway, so there really wasn't any point in hiring an extra room. He, Jessica, and Molly shared the second room. He ordered room service for them all as none of them were particularly bothered about going out for food before meeting up with Bee for the party. When the room service came, the small group settled down to eat the food in Nosedive's room. He'd put on the TV and it was playing some music channel.

"So, we going to this thing in cosplay or what girl?" Mookie asked Jessica.

"I'm probably going to go for civvies if I'm honest." Jessica admitted, "I certainly didn't expect to be partying tonight so I didn't bring anything like you guys would have."

"At least we don't have to go find a club that isn't too boring that lets in minors!" Thrash laughed.

"Shut up Thrash!" Dive pushed his friend jovially.

"You're nearly there though Dive!" Mookie said cheerfully. "Just a one more year and we can go to any club we want with you."

"Why do I think that's not necessarily a good thing?" Wildwing shook his head at them.

"Oh, stop being so damn sensible all the time!" Jessica elbowed him.

"I have a brother to look out for and a team to…" He paused remembering he was no longer leader. "Never mind." He sighed.

"Bro you've always been the sensible one!" Nosedive frowned at his brother, "We're on vacation this weekend, so let loose already!"

"Yeah, like it's that easy." Wildwing replied with a roll of his eyes.

"I'm sure we'll get you to loosen up by the end of the weekend." Jessica rested her chin on his shoulder and looked up into his eyes with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Yeah, people seriously underestimate the power of geeks and their ability to ensure everyone has fun." Mookie declared with a grin.

"Yeah man!" Thrash joined in, "We'll have you acting as crazy as us by the end of the night!"

"Molly!" Wildwing said dramatically, "Help me, they're all teaming up on me!" Molly giggled and ran over to him to jump on his lap. She pushed her mother away and held her arms out like some sort of barrier.

"I'll protect you!" She said with a grin.

"Oh, you will, will you?" Jessica asked then grabbed her daughter and tickled the girl's sides. Molly squealed in laughter as she was tickled mercilessly.

"Help!" She managed between her laughter.

"Oh, there's no help for little girls who don't side with their moms!" Jessica laughed dramatically. Her eyes grew wide as hands were suddenly at her sides and she doubled in laughter as she was tickled instead. Molly crawled out from under her mom before running behind Nosedive and they watched as the normally sensible Wildwing held down Jessica and tickled her sides whilst laughing at her feeble attempts to stop him and her adorable giggles. Eventually he stopped and let her up. "That was low!" She glared at him but there was a smirk on her face.

"Yay! Wildwing saved me from evil mom!" Molly laughed.

"Evil mom?!" Jessica laughed, "I'll remember that tomorrow when you want something else from the dealers!" She laughed at her daughter's pout.

"She'll just have to ask me then." Wildwing winked at her.

"Oh, it's like that huh?!" Jessica stuck her tongue out at Wildwing who smirked.

"Want some more tickle torture?" He grinned evilly.

"I'm good thanks." Jessica laughed, "In fact," She looked at her watch, "I'm going to slip next door to get ready." She excused herself and left the room. Wildwing turned to the others.

"You okay to watch Molly whilst I get ready too?" Wildwing asked them.

"Sure man!" Thrash replied as Molly ran to sit on Mookie's lap. The purple haired teen sat cross legged and had just got a hand-held console out. Molly wanted to watch her play and, given her size, Mookie let her sit on her lap.

"So, bro?" Nosedive caught his brother's attention before he could leave the room. Wildwing stopped in the doorway and looked back to see what his little brother wanted, "We need to turn the music up whilst you're gone or are you actually gonna go get ready?" Nosedive waggled his brows suggestively and Wildwing went an interesting shade of pink.

"Not in front of Molly!" Wildwing scolded and quickly left, not really sure why his brother suggesting he might get busy with his girlfriend, was so embarrassing. His brother was nearly an adult. He knew how things like that worked and had done for some time so why was his brother joking about it so uncomfortable to him. He entered his room and Jessica was already in her underwear and picking out some of her regular clothing. Wildwing shook his head when his view was transfixed on her rear end like some degenerate, then he walked over to his bag. He pulled out some blue jeans and a t-shirt in white. He coupled this with a navy cotton shirt to wear over the t-shirt. He stopped when arms slipped around his neck and the half-naked body against his back.

"You know we do have just enough time." Jessica whispered huskily into his ear. Wildwing felt a shiver go down his spine.

"Jess my brother and Molly are on the other side of that wall." Wildwing looked at her out of the side of his eye.

"Oh fine." She pulled away then smiled, "Not even a make out session." She asked innocently. Wildwing manoeuvred so he was sat on the bed, with a smile on his beak he grabbed Jessica towards him. "Is that a yes?" She raised an eyebrow questioningly as she straddled his lap with her crotch pressed against his, only the fabric of her underwear and his pants in the way. She was pleased with herself that she felt a reaction. Wildwing merely smirked before grasping her ass and pressing her closer to him. His kind weren't very well designed to kiss like humans, but he was able to do a few of the things that Jessica liked, such as licking and sucking her neck. She moaned softly as his hands explored her flesh, one finding it's way under her bra and began kneading her nipple. He groaned as she rocked back and forth against him. His mind began drifting into instinct and he knew if they didn't stop soon then they would soon both be unable to stop. It was then that Jessica made him look at her.

"Why don't we take a shower?" She asked him.

"Huh?" Was his dumb reply.

"I don't know about you, but I'm already kinda hot and sweaty." She smiled suggestively, "So I'm going to have to have a quick shower before I get changed now anyway. We can lock the bathroom door, to be sure and…wash together." Part of Wildwing's mind was saying no. That it wasn't appropriate for them to be doing this when Molly or Dive could walk in at any point. The other part. The part clouded by lust for the woman before him was telling him that his brother wouldn't have made the veiled suggestion had Dive not expected them to sleep with each other. As such he would probably ensure that he kept Molly busy till they get back to the other room. He smirked before throwing caution to the wind and stood up. Jessica was flung over his shoulder, earning him a squeak. He carried her to the bathroom and locked the door behind them. When he'd set her back on the floor she was instantly on him. He was pushed back against the door he had just locked. She kissed and sucked at his chest as her hands worked to loosen his pants and push them down. Once he had helped her get them off, he threw off his boxers. She moved back and turned on the shower with one hand whilst she unclipped her bra with the other. She pulled down her panties and threw them to one side before backing into the shower cubicle whilst beckoning to him with one finger. He did as he was told and moved closer with a smile.

"So, I'm boring huh?" Wildwing asked with a smirk.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16:**

"You be good for Bee's mom okay?" Jessica said as she handed the older woman the DVD Molly had chosen.

"You kids have fun!" Bee's mother, who they learned was called Samantha, smiled taking Molly's hand with her left and picking up Bee's son, who was a toddler, in the other arm and holding him on her hip. "She can stay all night and you kids can come get her in the morning so have a good time." Jessica had already swapped numbers with Samantha in case there was any emergency and had made a note on her phone of the room they were in for the morning, although the older woman had simply told them to just call her when they were up, and she would meet them somewhere. Wildwing was a little suspicious of what this woman expected to happen at this party as Samantha seemed to think they would want to lie in.

"Thanks Mom!" Bee called cheerfully. She was dressed in a cheer leader outfit that Jessica had informed Wildwing was a video game character. Thrash and Mookie had gone in some slightly dressier attire to their usual every day clothes, such as a leather skirt for Mookie and a leather jacket for Thrash. Nosedive wore dark navy jeans that could almost be mistaken for black with a form fitting tank top. Around his neck was a cord on which a pendant hung with their team logo on that had been made by Mookie for his birthday. Jessica wore all black. Black bootleg pants with heeled ankle boots beneath. She wore a black strapless corset on her upper body that accentuated both her waist and her cleavage which was finished off with a cord like choker that fastened at the front just to the right of the centre of her throat.

Bee led them to a room towards the far end of the convention where a que was gathering outside said room. The group chatted with each other and few of the people also waiting to be let in. Wildwing smiled at his brother as he revelled in the attention, he was proud of his brother and how he'd eventually got over his hatred of the humans as a whole. His little brother still had his misgivings when it came to trusting the human race, but he'd at least laugh and smile with them now, when they were being nice to him. Before he had often been rude or out right avoided interacting with humans if he could, with the exception of Thrash and Mookie of course. But here he was surrounded by a group of curious people asking him for stories of his adventures. Before long they were letting people in and they were greeted with a room set up like a night club. Bee had excused herself to meet some other friends for a while before getting past the bouncers and disappearing into the room. Nosedive had grumbled that he had to have a stamp on his hand to show he was under 21, but a warning word from Wildwing and Nosedive soon shut up and allowed the stamp to be placed on the back of his hand. They finally entered the party as the music was just being amped up by the DJ and their first port of call was to go and get some drinks. Wildwing and Jessica told the trio of friends to go find somewhere to sit whilst they picked up said drinks and they did just that.

"What is that?" Wildwing asked as Jessica ordered a drink for him before he could say anything to the bar tender.

"A drink." She replied pulling her card out and paying for the drinks before picking up three of them like a pro and allowing Wildwing to carry the remaining two.

"I can see that." He laughed, "But what's in it?"

"Alcohol." She told him with a smirk, "You sir are going to get drunk!"

"And what if I don't want to?" Wildwing asked out of interest. If he was honest, he had planned to have a few anyway but he'd never had alcohol in front of Jessica and had certainly never drunk in front his brother. In fact, the only person who knew he'd even touched any alcohol was Duke, he hadn't been old enough to drink before the invasion and he hadn't bothered trying as he had been working too hard at college to go out partying like the other kids. He snorted to himself at the thought, maybe he was boring.

"Then I am happy to drink your share too!" Jessica winked at him.

"I don't think so!" He laughed. By the time he'd sat down he picked up the drink Jessica had bought him and took a swig. It was bitter, and he was pretty sure whatever she had chosen, it was stronger than what he would normally have. He glanced at Jessica who was already making short work of her own beverage, he could see that he would be buying more very shortly.

"Let's go dance!" Mookie said as something foreign came on. She dragged Nosedive and Thrash to the dance floor and they began moving in time to the music.

"Want some more?" Jessica asked as she finished hers off and noticed his was empty too.

"Isn't it my turn?" He asked.

"Yeah, but can I trust you to get the good stuff?" She fluttered her eyelashes at him innocently. Wildwing laughed and just passed his card to her.

"Knock yourself out." He laughed as she jumped up to go get them some more. He watched her leave and whilst she was getting them more to drink a couple of the other party goers came over to him and either asked him a few questions about what it was like being an alien on earth, or asked him for an autograph. He happily provided the information whilst he both watched out for Jessica out of the corner of his eye and watched his brother and friends dance not far away from where he was sat. There was a small crowd forming to watch his brother who was attempting to break dance with a couple of the other dancers creating a mini dance off. Jessica finally returned with a tray, on which was a pitcher, two glasses and a whole host of shots. Wildwing raised an eyebrow at the sight, "You weren't kidding when you said you planned to get me drunk were you!" He laughed.

"Hey!" She grinned, "It's not all for you! After all, couples get drunk together!" She declared earning another laugh. He grabbed her hand and pulled her down beside him, so he could nuzzle her neck.

"Something tells me I might regret this in the morning." He smirked into her neck as she hummed in appreciation. There was suddenly a shot under his beak and a grin on Jessica's face.

"Let's get this party started!" She hollered as she picked up her own shot. The pair downed it together and before Wildwing had even realised what was happening, he had downed three shots and was pouring some of the drink in the pitcher. He had no idea what he was drinking, but for some reason he didn't care.

Nosedive came back over for a break and gave his brother a surprised look at how many empty glasses were already on the table. He took out his phone and took a few snaps of Wildwing laughing with Jessica, making sure that at least some of the empty glasses on the table were in view before sending them to Duke asking what Jess had done to his brother. He finished the message off with a laughing emoticon and placed the phone on the table in case Duke responded.

"Tired all ready little bro?!" Wildwing asked loudly.

"Night's young and you already need a break?" Jessica teased.

"Says the only two people in the room that haven't even attempted to dance!" He teased right back taking a sip of his own drink. His brother looked at his girlfriend.

"Can I have this dance?" He smirked at Jessica.

"Why sir," Jessica replied, putting on a southern accent, "Why I thought you'd never ask!" The pair poured what was left in the pitcher into their glasses and moved to the dance floor. Nosedive noticed his phone flashing to let him know he's had a message. He picked it up and he could see Duke had responded.

" _Is he drunk?!"_ Dive responded with a confirmation and a few moments later Duke was demanding further evidence of the very uncharacteristic behaviour being displayed by his brother. Nosedive sniggered and looked to the dance floor where his brother was dancing up close and personal with his girlfriend. He could also see several people filming them. He took a few more snaps of the pair before getting up to re-join his friends, who were dancing close to the couple anyway. He and his friends laughed a little at the sight, especially given the music playing was not mainstream in the slightest. A lot of the tracks were cult classics, anime intros and various styles of Asian pop and rock. Yet Wildwing and Jessica didn't seem to care and continued to move to the music, one of them occasionally leaving to get another drink.

"You having fun?" Jessica asked over the noise as a slower song started as she wrapped her arms around his neck, his arms snaked around her waist to pull her as close as possible to his body.

"Yeah." He replied simply enjoying the closeness. Not realising his baby brother was filming the touching moment. He breathed in her scent and nuzzled he neck tenderly as she kissed his neck. "I love you." he breathed just loud enough for her to hear over the love song playing. Jessica looked up at him in shock and Wildwing suddenly realised what he's just said. Her shocked expression soon softened, however, and she was back in his arms once more.

"I love you too Wildwing." She said before kissing his neck again. The song soon ended, and a much more up beat song started. Suddenly, Nosedive had jumped on Wildwing's back and declared it was his party and they were not to leave the dance floor. Wildwing wasn't sure why but all of a sudden there were more drinks handed out amongst the party goers. He himself was passed an entire pitcher of something and people were suddenly trying to encourage him to try and down the whole lot. He glanced to his side where he saw Jessica also had a pitcher in hand. She winked and lifted hers up as if to toast him.

"Oh, it's on!" He sniggered lifting his own up before the pair tried to beat each other to the bottom of their own pitchers. The crowd were cheering them on and a tremendous cheer sounded as Jessica beat him too it, although he wasn't far behind her. Nosedive was cheering with them as he held his phone in one hand and live streamed the whole thing to Duke. He valued his safety too much to live stream the situation to the public, although he was sure there were plenty of people in the crowd doing that anyway.

Jessica groaned as light peeped through the crack in her hotel curtains the following morning. She remembered downing a pitcher against Wildwing and winning, but everything was pretty hazy after that. She stretched her naked body in the bed and looked to her left to see an equally naked Wildwing crashed out and snoring beside her. She snorted quietly at the scene. His usually perfectly styled hair was a complete haystack and he lay sprawled on his front with his left leg and arm dangling off the side of the bed. The covers seemed to have wound up on the floor at some point in the night and she noticed that there were a few empty bottles of wine scattered around the room. She leant down and across her slumbering boyfriend's back to kiss him on the cheek. He stirred slightly with a groan but remained dead to the world. Jessica looked at the time and nearly cursed out loud when she realised it was nearly lunch time. She scrambled as quietly as possible to find her phone and called Samantha who assured her that her daughter was with her and they were watching Bee's panel about costume design and build. She also assured her that Nosedive and his friends had already found them and were going to take Molly to lunch after so there was really no rush for Jessica and Wildwing to get up any time soon. Jessica thanked the woman profusely and made a mental note to pick her up something nice from one of the local stores or a dealer before they left as a thank you. Jessica quietly picked up the bottles of wine and placed them neatly in the corner beside the bin before hoping into the shower and then getting dressed. Just as she pulled on her shirt there was a beeping from Wildwing's com, which resulted in a groan from the previously slumbering duck. He cracked open his eyes and glared at the offending com that was beeping and buzzing away on the beside table. Jess watched as he snatched it and answered gruffly

"What's wrong?" He didn't bother opening the thing as Tanya had upgraded them so that they could just use them like a regular phone if they wanted to.

"Nothing buddy." A sniggering Canard answered him. Wildwing glared at the com on the table again. "Just calling to make sure you survived last night." Jessica walked over with smile on her face, clearly, they had found out what had gone on at the party last night.

"Yeah," Mallory sniggered, "You certainly seemed to be having fun."

"Just how much did you drink last night kid?" Duke asked sounding every bit as amused as the others. The only ones who didn't say anything were Tanya and Grin. Wildwing groaned loudly.

"If you guys know I have a hangover, why are a you calling so early?" Wildwing almost whined.

"Early?!" Mallory exclaimed with a laugh.

"Wildwing, it's midday!" Duke pointed out. Wildwing's eyes shot open at this and he looked around, suddenly very glad he hadn't answered with the video option. He looked to Jessica who only shrugged.

"Don't look at me," She said sounding like she had a sore throat, "I only woke up about 10 minutes ago." Laughter could be heard from Wildwing's com and Jessica's phone beeped. She picked it up. Impressed with herself that she had been aware enough last night to put the thing on charge. Looking at it she saw a text from Tanya who was apologising and telling her that she had told the others to leave them alone, but only Grin had not participated in teasing Wildwing. She let Wildwing see it and he rolled his eyes.

"Where's Molly?" Wildwing asked in a panic, "Shouldn't we have picked her up by now?"

"She's fine." Jessica assured, "I called Samantha and she said that Dive and the others were already with them and were planning to look after Molly till we surfaced." Wildwing visibly relaxed and fell back down onto the bed so he was on his back.

"Thank puck for that." Wildwing replied.

"So Wildwing," Canard asked, Wildwing inclined his head to look at the com with a scowl, "you may not want to turn on any news channels for a few days." Wildwing sat straight back up again, ignoring the headache forming, and searched for the remote control for the TV. Jessica found it first and she switched it on to find a news channel. There on the screen was Wildwing, partying hard with Jessica like any other celebrity. It switched from pictures of him drinking shots and downing pitchers of alcohol and bottles of wine, to him getting cosy with Jess on the dance floor and then to footage of him and their small group joining in with the dances on the dance floor. Wildwing groaned at what he saw and was relieved when the segment moved on to another celebrity who had been caught taking drugs and getting violent. He sat back down and held his head.

"I don't even remember half of that!" He whined earning a laugh from Jessica. Who switched off the TV and walked over to the com where more laughter could be heard.

"Oh guys?" She asked sweetly as she was closer to the offending device.

"What is it Jessica?" Canard asked between laughter.

"Are you done?" She asked sweetly.

"For now, kid." Duke chuckled over the line.

"Good." She then disconnected the call and dumped the com into Wildwing's suitcase. "Now that they're dealt with." She turned to Wildwing, "Is this your first hangover?"

"Pretty much." Wildwing rubbed his eyes in a vain attempt to rid himself of the headache when he opened his eyes again a bottle of water was held in front of him. He took it gratefully and nearly downed the whole bottle in one.

"Well get dressed." Jessica told him, "Not only do we need to rehydrate you, but after the amount we both drank, we need a nice big greasy meal to soak up the alcohol left in our system." She then glanced down at him, "Not that I'm complaining about the view of course." Wildwing laughed at her.

"Let me take a shower first." Wildwing told her nuzzling her as he passed. Before long he was showered and dressed in some comfortable jeans and long-sleeved tank top that he had rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. He pulled on his regular boots and grabbed another bottle of water from the mini bar which looked suspiciously empty. He was going to be short again this month. He inwardly groaned to himself, but he had to admit he knew he'd had fun last night. Most of it was a blur, but he'd definitely had a good time for once. There was no worry about an attack. No worries about the safety of his team. He just let loose and had fun like any regular guy his age. Something he hadn't allowed himself to really do since before the invasion of their planet.

"Ready?" Jessica asked once he's downed another bottle of water.

"Yeah." He said taking her hand. She led him out of the room and out of the hotel, to a local restaurant that sold all day breakfast. The pair ate whilst they discussed what they remembered of the night before. Wildwing noted that Jessica certainly seemed to remember more than he did.

"So, you said you loved me last night." Jessica said staring at him to assess his reaction and to see whether he remembered. Wildwing nearly choked on his food and looked up at her with a deep blush suddenly forming on his cheeks.

"I did?" He asked.

"Uh huh." Jessica smiled, clearly it was one of the things he didn't remember. "Did you mean it?" Wildwing looked at her for a few moments before looking down at his plate whilst he answered.

"Yes. Yes, I did." He put down his fork and looked back at her with a pleading look in his eyes, "I'm sorry if…"

"Sorry?" Jessica blinked, "Why the hell are you sorry?" She laughed at him.

"Well it wasn't exactly how I wanted to tell you." He said sheepishly, "That sort of thing is best said sober."

"Oh bull!" Jess replied with a laugh, "Sweet guys like you say all sorts of things when they're plastered." She didn't think he could blush any more, but he proved her wrong, "Oh and I'm guessing you don't remember what I said after either?" He shook his head. She stood up and moved around the table to kiss his cheek, before she pulled away she whispered in his ear, "I love you too Wildwing." She moved away then grinned at the effect she'd had on him, "I gotta go to the little girls' room. When I get back, I need to pick up a thank you present for Samantha for looking after Molly for us."

"Sure." He said in a bit of a daze as he watched her leave with his head rested on one hand. When they'd first been stranded on this planet, he'd never, in his wildest dreams, thought he'd fall for a human. He thought he'd likely die alone unless they somehow made their way home to Puckworld. He indicated to the waitress' that he was ready to pay, and Jessica returned just as he'd finished punching in his pin number. He thanked the waitress who shyly asked for his autograph, producing her order pad as something to write on. He chuckled and gave her what she wanted before he and Jessica left the restaurant hand in hand. He had to admit, Jessica wasn't wrong when she said a greasy meal would help. He certainly felt better now he'd had something to eat and his headache was slowly subsiding. The pair browsed the shops nearby the hotel and Jess picked up some flowers and a bottle of wine for Samantha. Once that was done they made their way back to the convention. There were only a few hours left to go but it was enough time for Jessica and Wildwing to pick up a few more things to surprise Nosedive and Molly with. They had then found their way to the cosplay guest area where Jessica handed the wine and flowers to Bee for her mother. Wildwing spotted a small dealers table with a selection of real swords for sale on it. Most of them were broad swords but some were fencing swords and some Asian swords. He knew Duke would love the stall. Then he spotted a small cabinet towards the middle of the table in front of, and surrounded by the sword selections. The swords displayed on the table were behind a cage like display cabinet so the jewelry stuck out. He moved over to the cabinet and had a look. Inside were ornate necklaces, tiaras and rings. The metal work on them must have taken forever and many of them had been encrusted with jewels. There were very expensive, but he had to admit that the pieces deserved to be with how beautiful they were.

"I'd bet she'd love that dark blue one bro." Wildwing nearly jumped out of his feathers at his brother's voice and turned to glare at the blonde culprit for his raised heartbeat. Thrash and Mookie moved from his side to Wildwing's other side as if hiding what he was looking at from Jessica who was still deep in conversation with Bee, but now had a tired looking Molly swinging on her hand.

"What are you talking about?" Wildwing asked a little irritably.

"That navy one there." Dive pointed out to a silver ring that had roses etched into the band. The metal was worked so that a large rose from the band in the middle, in the centre of which sat a midnight blue stone. He had to admit he could picture it on her finger.

"Something you're interested in?" A skinny yet toned man asked him from behind the counter.

"How much is that ring man?" Dive asked for him.

"That?" The dealer asked, "That's one of my best pieces, was a real bitch to make."

"You made that?" Wildwing asked, genuinely impressed.

"I mostly make swords but with how popular the fantasy genre is these days, some of the lady's want some jewelry to go with their cosplays. Some of the guys too at times." He added with a grin.

"It's beautiful." Mookie told him looking at it longingly. Wildwing noticed Jessica was approaching.

"Dive, do me a favour and distract her?" Wildwing pleaded with his brother. Who just grinned and slinked away. Thrash and Mookie stayed beside him, so Jess couldn't really see what he was looking at. "I'll take it." Wildwing said glancing at Jessica who was eyeing Nosedive suspiciously as he led her to another dealer's stall.

"I haven't even given you a price for it dude!" The dealer laughed then followed Wildwing's gaze. "Wow, she's a knock out!" He glanced back at Wildwing, "I'm selling it for 1500, but I'll throw in the necklace your friend is drooling over as well for no extra." He winked at Mookie who looked shocked.

"Oh, no I…" Mookie tried to object but Wildwing took his card out.

"Sold." Wildwing told the dealer, "Can you wrap it or something?" he asked glancing back to make sure Dive still had his girlfriends' full attention.

"Of course." He replied.

"Wildwing, seriously, you could just talk him down on the price!" Mookie whined but watched as the dealer carefully placed the ring in a box and the necklace in a separate box. He wrapped them in some tissue paper and put them in a bag that he explained his wife had persuaded him to buy in just for these occasions. Wildwing then passed the bag and its contents to Mookie who blinked.

"Make out like you bought something okay?" Wildwing asked, "I'll come get the ring from the comic store after we're back."

"Um, sure." Mookie said gulping and taking the bag and holding it close to her, "Thank you for the necklace. It's the prettiest things I've ever seen!" she grinned.

"God knows when she's gonna wear it!" Thrash teased earning himself an elbow in his gut and a foot stamped on his left boot from Mookie. She glared at him angrily and turned back to Wildwing.

"She's the luckiest girl in the world!" Mookie said then frowned, "Man that was corny!" She added with a laugh.

"Well thanks for being my cover." Wildwing winked at her.

"What are you guys up to?" Jess asked as she finally joined them. Nosedive gave his brother a questioning look, the older Flashblade glanced down at the bag held possessively by Mookie and winked. Dive grinned earning a look from Jessica. "Okay now I really think you boys are up to something." She glared at the two.

"Hey, the cons' almost over. We should probably go pack! We were leaving early in the morning, tomorrow right?" Mookie said a little too loudly. Earning a look from Jessica as well. Mookie ignored the blonde and dragged Thrash and Nosedive in the direction of the exit and the elevators to the hotel above.

"What did you do?!" Jessica asked Wildwing suspiciously as they watched them leave.

"You'll find out eventually," he glanced at the dealer who was giving him a thumbs up. Before Jessica could turn to see who it was he was looking at, Wildwing was steering Molly and Jessica in the direction that the others had gone.

"My feet hurt." Molly whined. Wildwing smiled and picked Molly up easily, resting her on his hip in his left arm, whilst taking Jessica's hand in his right. Molly was asleep before they even reached the elevator.

When they got to their room, Wildwing gently placed Molly into bed and tucked her in before helping Jessica gather their belongings and pack their bags ready for the morning. The pair woke Molly up long enough to take her next door for dinner where they all shared pizza and watched a couple of movies. Jessica, Wildwing and Molly curled up on the floor, against the end of the main bed whilst Thrash and Mookie curled up on the main bed and Nosedive watched from his own single bed at the side of the room. Molly fell asleep again relatively quickly on Wildwing's lap. Jessica was next to go as she had curled up on Wildwing's side with her head on his shoulder. Wing followed soon after, resulting in some pictures being taken by all the remaining occupants in the room. They soon got bored and chose another movie to watch. Before long they were all asleep. Any intention of Wildwing and the others going back to their own room forgotten in their exhaustion.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17:**

Wildwing smiled as he watched Jessica glide across the ice. He had been watching her for some time before a finger poked him in the side. He jumped and looked for the culprit to see his brother grinning at him.

"You know you're acting like a creepy stalker, right?" Nosedive asked in a low voice, so Jessica couldn't hear him and get distracted.

"I am not!" Wildwing hissed defensively, "She just looks so peaceful."

"Yeah, she does." Nosedive said before shoving his brother onto the ice, "So go join her you doofus." Dive sniggered as he slipped away. Wildwing turned to snap at his brother but was interrupted;

"Wildwing?" Jessica had stopped skating the minute she had noticed her boyfriend on the ice. "What are you…?" She looked up when some romantic music began playing from the speakers above.

"I'm gonna kill him." Wildwing glared up at the commentator's box where he could see a grinning blonde waving at him before dashing away.

"I'm guessing Nosedive's around here somewhere too?" Jessica laughed.

"He was, and if he still is," Wildwing add much more loudly, "he's gonna regret it!"

"Don't be so grumpy and dance with me." Jessica poked him in the stomach to gain his attention. Wildwing glanced back at her then grabbed her hand and spun her around.

"If you insist." He grinned.

Later that day, Tanya looked over her shoulder for the fourth time since wondering over to the mall to pick up a few things. She was beginning to wish she had asked someone to accompany her, especially after the nightmare Jessica had gone through. She picked up her pace and decided to cut through captain comics rather than walk all the way around to the end of the mall, only to have to double back once she'd reached the end of the buildings.

"Hey Tanya!" Thrash called to her with a friendly smile as she entered then frowned, "Something wrong girl?"

"Oh, it's probably nothing." She replied, "I'm probably just being para… para… silly." She smiled.

"You sure?" Mookie asked, "I mean you guys live crazy lives, maybe you should trust your gut, or instincts or whatever?"

"You're right." Tanya said and opened her com, "Um, Duke?" She asked after she'd selected his specific com.

"Hey kid, what's up?" Duke asked.

"Um, are you still at the mall?" She asked.

"Yeah, just picking up a coffee." Duke replied, "Something wrong?"

"I'm not sure but I …uh." Tanya was feeling silly again.

"Kid you look worried." Duke pointed out, "Where are you?"

"Captain Comics." She replied sheepishly.

"Wait there, I'll walk ya back and you can tell me what's wrong in person." Duke didn't wait for her to reply and Tanya was left staring at a blank screen. She shook her head and sighed.

"You think you're being followed or something?" Mookie asked as she carried a box to a shelf close to Tanya and began placing comics into the shelving there.

"I'm not sure." Tanya admitted. "I hope not."

"Hey!" Duke greeted as he entered the shop, "So what's up Tanya?"

"She thinks she's being followed." Thrash answered for her.

"I didn't say that!" Tanya protested.

"You said you weren't sure." Mookie pointed out, "Which means that you think," Mookie used air quotes to emphasise the word think, "you're being followed." Duke looked at the blonde tech carefully, the silly woman seemed embarrassed to have called him. He knew that Tanya could take care of herself with all her gadgets, but she wasn't much of a fighter physically. Strip her of her gear and she was the weakest fighter on the team.

"We're going back to the pond and letting Canard and Wing know." Duke told her.

"But I…" She tried to object but Duke held up his hand to stop her.

"No buts!" Duke told her as if a parent scolding his child, "If you're right and someone is following you, it may not just be you. Any one of us, including Jess and her family members, could be in danger of being nabbed or worse if they go out alone." Duke pointed out and Tanya paled in realisation that it might not just be her that could be in danger. "Come on kid, let's go." The pair waved to the teens in the store before leaving through the back door to cross the visitors' car park for the pond. They had barely left the store before Duke sensed something and pushed Tanya away whilst quick changing from his civilian clothing into his battle gear. He flipped away as an energy blade flashed in his peripheral vision. His own blade was drawn, and in a flash, he was on their attacker.

"Duke!" Tanya cried, already in her battle gear and aiming a gun their way, but they were moving too fast for her to get a clear shot. She held the gun in both hands and her aim was moving back and forth in an attempt to spot a shot where she wouldn't hit her friend.

"Tanya, get to the pond now!" Duke yelled to her without taking his eyes off his opponent. Whoever this was, he was good. Very good. The man looked human but seemed stronger and quicker than any human he'd come across. He had wavy white hair that was cropped to just below the man's ears. He had ice blue eyes and what looked like tattoos on his face, three triangles on his face with a diamond on his forehead. All were a solid blue colour. He was a similar build to Duke and had a style similar to earth's kendo form of fighting as opposed to his own style which was closer to fencing. Duke was beginning to tire and had lost track of where Tanya was until he heard her scream. He chanced a look behind him, in the direction of the pond to see siege standing over a now unconscious Tanya. "Dammit!" Duke dodged another slash of his opponent's deadly blade and sprinted towards Tanya, pressing his panic button as he did and hoping to any deity that would listen that at least some of his teammates were home and not elsewhere. As he neared Siege he threw a flash bomb from his utility belt forcing the saurian to take a step away. However, just as he neared Tanya's prone form the white-haired swordsman had appeared in front of him once more and they were clashing blades again. Duke could only half watch as Siege regained his composure and picked Tanya up. Throwing her over his shoulder, the saurian activated his teleporters and with a flash, they were gone. Duke growled angrily and doubled his efforts to take down his opponent in hopes that he too had a teleporter he could use.

"Duke!" He heard Nosedive call from somewhere behind him in the direction of the mall, "We're coming man!" Duke only gave the blonde his attention for a moment. But that was all his opponent needed to get through his defence and Duke's eyes grew wide as he felt a searing pain in his sword arm. He staggered backwards as he heard something hit the floor with his sword. Looking down at his sword arm he realised that it was no longer there. He fell on his tail feathers still looking at what was once his right arm as blood gushed out of the short stump that was still left. There was nothing but white noise to him in the moments before he passed out, but he was vaguely aware of the gun fire, a familiar voice yelling his name and telling him to hold on, then finally, strong arms picking him up like a child. It was at that point everything went dark.

Alex rubbed his temples as he checked Duke's vitals one more time. It was only by chance that he had been visiting his sister on his day off. Chance that he hadn't been needed at the hospital where he worked. When Grin came rushing into the underground headquarters with a bloody Duke in his arms. Nosedive had been carrying Duke's saber and was covered in blood. Alex had jumped into action and had ordered them into the infirmary and thanked all that was holy that Tanya had taught him how to use the medicom as well as shown him where everything was, just in case he ever needed to use the medical facility. He mentally praised her intuition. Grin had assisted him with Duke, as Nosedive was in no state to help anyone and Jessica couldn't stop urging. The pair left the room to allow them space to work. And he had. Alex had worked on saving Duke's life for several hours. He couldn't reattach the arm, apparently his attacker had taken it with him. Which meant that he had to close off the blood vessels and arteries. Not only this, the cut was disturbingly clean, which meant he had to remove some of the bone to get enough tissue to close off the wound. When he was done he was mentally exhausted but had enough sense to wonder where Tanya was and why she hadn't rushed in to assist him. He walked out of the infirmary and found the entire team waiting in the rec room for him to come out. Grin had left around ten fifteen minutes before he had, and he couldn't imagine that Grin really knew what he had been doing, nor the possible dangers of the impromptu amputation.

"Do I want to know what happened?" Alex asked them, noticing that Thrash and Mookie were also present. The pair looked pretty shook up. His sister sat quietly to Wildwing's side, holding his hand.

"He and Tanya were attacked." Wildwing ran a hand through his hair, "Seems the saurians have a new ally who kept Duke busy till they took Tanya and then used his blade to…" Wildwing couldn't quite finish the sentence.

"How is he?" Mallory asked.

"Stable." Alex told them, "But he's not out of the woods yet. He's lost an incredible amount of blood and it's only thanks to that miracle medical device of yours and the stock piles of blood that Tanya has gathered and stored during the years you have all been here, that he's survived what I needed to do to close off the wound." He took a seat and stifled a yawn, "There are numerous problems that can arise from such an injury. If the amputation was carried out on the operating table, then certain controls can be put in place to limit those problems. But this was sudden and severe. He's not as young as the rest of you and the strain this is putting on his heart will be immense. Not only that, it's his working arm. If, and I do mean if, he wakes up he could very well give himself a heart attack from the shock of seeing the arm gone." Alex rubbed the back of his neck, "Did you say Tanya was taken?" He asked hoping he'd misheard.

"Yeah. Thrash and Mookie tell us that she'd popped into their store worried that someone was following her," Canard told him, "She called Duke and they were making their way back to the pond when they were attacked."

"They were attacked right outside!" Nosedive said trembling a little in shock, "We were all out. We didn't get there in time! We…" Nosedive seemed to be panicking and Wildwing had realised long before even Alex did. The older brother placed an arm around the younger's shoulders and pulled him close.

"Breath Dive." He said quietly and calmly, "You got there as soon as you could. We all did."

"But how are we going to find Tanya without Duke and… you know… Tanya!" Nosedive looked to his brother. "And what happens when Alex has to go back to work? What if something goes wrong with Duke? Tanya's the only one who really knows anything about medicine!"

"Calm down Nosedive, we'll manage!" Mallory tried to help but her tone was anything but helpful.

"Oh, whatever captain technophobe!" Nosedive stood up and glared at her angrily.

"Dive!" Wildwing held his brother at arm's length to scold him but sighed. "Come on, you're filthy. Let's get you cleaned up." Dive blinked and looked down at himself. Sure, enough he was covered in Duke's blood. He was suddenly lost for words again and allowed his brother to steer him towards the living quarters where he could shower and change.

"Alex, can I talk with you a moment." Canard said when the brothers had left the room. Alex nodded and followed the tan drake away from the main group.

"What is it?" Alex asked.

"Nosedive has a point." Canard said, "If you hadn't been here, Duke would already be dead."

"It's what I do." Alex shrugged.

"So, Tanya tells me." Canard frowned, "She's also been bugging me about possibly bringing you in as a team MD for when we get injured in battle or on the ice. She's been pretty insistent about it actually."

"Really?" Alex asked genuinely surprised.

"Yes really." Canard looked back to his team then at the clock on the wall, "Look I need to make sure someone is available to go with your sister to get Molly. I don't want any one going anywhere alone right now. I suggest you get Mary to come over with Toby again. We can arrange for your belongings to be brought over if necessary at a later date. But, if you are agreeable, I am going to speak to Phil about hiring you. If you want the job of course."

"Listen, now's not really the time to discuss this." Alex said rubbing a kink out of the muscle in his neck whilst leaning against the nearest wall, "Don't get me wrong, I am definitely interested, but right now Duke needs a doctor and you don't have one. I have some time owing. I will call work now and take it. There should be enough to cover you guys finding Tanya and to cover what's needed for Duke. We'll worry about any jobs once everyone is safe. How's that?"

"Thanks Alex." Canard smiled and watched as the blonde doctor walked away and back to the infirmary.

Tanya was doing her best to not show how truly terrified she was. She'd been captured before, but she had been with one of the others then. She had them to talk to her and keep her brilliant mind from thinking of every terrible outcome of the situation she found herself in. Not only that, there was a severed arm left just outside her cell. She knew exactly whose arm it was and when she'd first awoken to see it she had screamed blue murder. When she had got over the shock of seeing her teammate's arm lying on the floor not far from her cell she had cried to herself for a while. All her mind could think of was that Duke was likely dead. There was no way any of her teammates could cope with an amputation injury. Even with the medicom, they would need to get Alex in to save his life and by then the older drake would likely have lost too much blood. Tanya took in a deep steadying breath then squeaked despite herself, when Siege was suddenly in front of the bars to her cell. He smirked at her before deactivating the energy bars. She stood up and backed away from him as he approached, but he only seemed to enjoy the fear he was causing. He grabbed at her arm and pulled her roughly out of the cell and down the hall. She winced at the pain and briefly wondered why they hadn't killed her yet. Siege brought her to some sort of control room. The only thing she was sure of was that this wasn't the Raptor, so it was likely that the saurians had yet to restore the ship since they shot it down into the sea.

"You are the smart one I believe, aren't you?" Draganus said as she entered the room. The ominous saurian's back was to her. He was staring at the large monitor in front of him that seemed to show a research lab with various people working inside. She was surprised to note that there were numerous races, many of which she didn't recognise within the lab on the screen. Some were humans that seemed familiar in some way. She chose not to answer the question she had been asked and merely glared at Draganus in defiance. "Answer me!" He bellowed, and she jumped in fright.

"I..I.." Tanya tried to speak but her stutter betrayed her. Draganus snorted at her in disgust.

"No matter. If you are not, then my new allies will simply dispose of you." He told her. "Siege teleport her to the lab and ensure that the Plutarkians there know that she is not one to be taken lightly. Is that understood?"

"Sure, thing boss." Siege grinned showing his teeth. He pulled her again and pressed a button on his wrist teleporter. Tanya blinked several times before she was aware that she was now somewhere else. To her right was a glass window that showed the lab she had only just seen on the screen in the room she had been in with Draganus. Two fish like people approached them and Tanya nearly gagged on the smell emanating from the pair. "Another egg head for you guppies." He threw her in their direction and they caught her. One pulled out a silver collar and placed it around her neck. Once it was secured he pressed a button on a gauntlet on his wrist and the collar began flashing after beeping three times. Tanya tried not to panic and didn't say anything for fear of embarrassing herself with her stutter that only grew worse when she was this scared.

"I'll be happy when this project is over, and I no longer have to work with the likes of you." The Plutarkian who had collared her spat at Siege.

"Feeling's mutual stinky." Siege snorted before teleporting away once more, leaving Tanya to her fate with no idea where in the galaxy she was, or how she was going to get back to her friends. The Plutarkians led her away from the research lab and to another room first. They scanned her for weaponry and found that the saurians had already stripped her of anything she could use as a weapon.

"You are now a slave to the Plutarkian race." She was told. "I am your keeper. My name is captain Manchego." He eyed her suspiciously, "You try to escape, you answer to me. You try to cause trouble, you answer to me." He told her, then lifted his wrist so she could clearly see the gauntlet there. Keeping the small control pad to the front, so she could watch, he brought his other hand towards the gauntlet and pressed a button. Tanya cried out in paid as the collar sent electricity coursing through her. She fell to her knees and let out a couple of sobs. "The people working in this lab are all too smart for their own good, so I am not beyond torture to keep you all in line." He knelt down to lift up her beak, "Remember that and you might survive this place. Or at the very least have a merciful death once we are done with you." Tanya didn't doubt his words. The aliens' eyes were cruel and hard. "You are here for a reason." He continued, standing up and beginning to pace the room, "You are here to work on the betterment of our technology. At this point in time, this includes the combination of technology garnered from your enemy and our own tech. Your co-workers will explain what it is you are trying to achieve. It bores me, and I have no need to know anything beyond the fact that you are tasked with carrying out the research and work needed to achieve the goals." He stopped and glared at the trembling woman now under his charge, "Is that understood?"

"I…I.." Tanya squeezed her eyes shut and growled more to herself than the alien holding her, "I won't help you put others in danger!" She bellowed angrily, impressing even herself that she didn't stutter during her little declaration. Manchego narrowed his eyes and was on her in a moment. He picked her up by her collar and slammed her against the wall. With a press of a button she was engulfed in electricity once more, only this time it was more intense. She cried out in pain.

"You misunderstand the situation you are in woman." He spat at her, "You have no choice in the matter!" His eyes flashed dangerously, and Tanya had never been so terrified in her life. "Do you really want to die a slow and painful death?" Tanya trembled but stared back defiantly. He growled at her and dragged her over to a monitor. He threw her to the floor and turned the monitor on and selected some footage. Tanya watched in horror as a humanoid mouse was strapped to a table and mercilessly tortured. Her mind told her what each torture was doing to the poor creature's body. She tried to look away as the screams started getting to her but Manchengo leaned down beside her and forced her to keep watching. Eventually the screaming stopped, and the mouse was left whimpering on the table before the Plutarkian who had been torturing the mouse simply shot him through the eyes. Tanya whimpered. "Do you want to be in that mouse's position?" She stared at the now blank screen with wide eyes and shook her head slightly, "Do you really want to die?" He asked her with a smirk that she couldn't see.

"N..No." She whimpered again.

"Then you will do as you are told or suffer the consequences." He spat and indicated to the second Plutarkian who had assisted him with her from the start. Manchengo watched as his colleague manhandled the blonde duck towards the lab where she would be put to work.

Wildwing sat by his fallen teammate's side with his head in his hands. The old thief had yet to wake up. Alex had declared that his vitals were stable, and he appeared to be getting stronger. So, it was likely that he would wake up eventually, however when would be up to Duke.

"Hey." Jess greeted quietly as she entered the room. She was carrying a box in her arms and she kissed his cheek when she reached him. He smiled at her and looked at the box.

"What's that?" He asked.

"Some post for the both of us." She said holding it to her ear, "Well it's not ticking." She teased. He rolled his eyes but appreciated her attempt to cheer him up. He held out his hands for the box and she handed it to him. It was quickly opened, and he found a load of Kayla-Rea merch inside. He and Jessica looked at each other. "Hey, there's a note." Wildwing said as he picked it up and opened it;

" _Thanks for saving my life."_ It read, " _I know Jessica said her daughter liked my music so as a thank you I have sent you guys some signed albums for her, as well as some other merch. Plus, some tickets to my New York gig, with back stage passes. I hope your little girl likes them. I never did get her name. Sincerely Kayla."_

"Molly is going to go nuts over this." Wing chuckled.

"Yeah." Jess smiled then sobered as she looked at Duke, "How's he doing?"

"Not even stirred yet." Wildwing said sadly. "When's Alex due back?"

"Later tonight." She told him. "Phil's helping him get out of his contract with the hospital, so he can be your team MD full time."

"I'm glad he accepted." Wildwing pulled Jess down to sit on his lap. That way he could hold her close for some much-needed physical comfort. "With Tanya missing and Duke incapacitated, we are seriously underhanded and I'm pretty sure it won't be long before Draganus starts taking advantage of that." Jessica placed the box on the floor and leaned back into Wildwing's warmth. His arms wrapped around her waist and his beak rested on her shoulder. They stayed like that for some time, just enjoying each other's company until they were joined by Nosedive.

"Hey guys." He greeted, "I picked up Molly from school. She's doing her homework with Grin."

"Thanks Dive." Jessica smiled, "I'd better go give Molly her gift from Kayla." She said to Wildwing. "Don't forget to take a break every now and again, okay Wing," She said with a worried look, "you won't help him by getting sick. Or the others for that matter." With that said she ran her fingers through his hair. Then she took the box and left the room to find her daughter.

"She's right bro." Dive told his brother. "How long have you been in here anyway." His brother frowned at him and looked down at his com.

"Um, about 5 hours." Wildwing rubbed the back of his neck, "Would explain the crick in my neck."

"Have you even eaten today?!" Nosedive asked his brother incredulously.

"Uh," The white drake chuckled nervously at the look Nosedive gave him, "I…" He sighed, "No. I haven't eaten yet."

"Seriously man!" Dive raised his arms up in the air in frustration, "You're always like this!" Dive stalked off and Wildwing simply watched him go with a sigh.

Nosedive stormed into the kitchen where he set to work making Wildwing some food. It wasn't long before he had prepared Wing's favourite earth food of mac and cheese. Of course, what most didn't know was that mac and cheese was pretty much all his brother could make without poisoning himself, which was why it was his favourite food. He had kept it secret that his brother was a terrible cook. He on the other hand was more than capable of cooking, he just chose not to. Using his com to access the security cameras, he grumbled to himself to see that Wildwing still hadn't moved an inch since he left him. So, he grabbed a tray, some cutlery and a glass of juice for his brother and took it to the infirmary for him. "Eat doofus!" He passed his brother the tray once he had reached his brother. Said brother blinked a few times then looked down at the tray.

"Yes sir." He said with a smile. Wildwing rested the tray on his lap and began tucking into the small meal his brother had prepared for him. Nosedive watched his brother the whole time to ensure that he finished every bite before taking the tray and putting it to one side, so he could sit with his brother who seemed to be going nowhere.

"So, you given Jess that ring yet?" Dive asked as he pulled up a seat beside Wildwing. Wildwing shook his head no. "What are you waiting for man?" Dive slapped his brother's back, "I mean you've both admitted you love each other. So, there's no time like the present right?"

"Why do you care so much about when I give her that ring?" Wildwing asked suspiciously, "And how do you know I bought it as an engagement ring, for that matter?"

"Engagement ring?" Canard blinked as he entered the room and stared at Wildwing in shock.

"Now see what you've done!" Wildwing groaned.

"Are you planning to propose to Jess?" Canard asked his friend smirking slightly.

"Whether or not I ask my girlfriend," Wildwing emphasised the word 'my', "Is none of your business," he turned to Nosedive, "It's not yours either so back off before Phil hears you!"

"Okay, okay!" Nosedive raised his hands in defeat, "Just wanted to know when you were planning on officially making Jess my big sis was all." Nosedive grinned and avoided the hand that tried to swat at him.

"It's okay if you wanted to marry her you know." Canard said looking somewhere to the side at a point on the wall to avoid their gaze. Both Flashblades looked at him in surprise.

"You're okay with me getting married?" Wildwing asked, "We haven't even captured Draganus yet and she's human! The other humans might treat her badly if she married me and…"

"Stop trying to make so many excuses you idiot!" Canard snapped as his gaze was suddenly on his friend. "She makes you happy. You make her happy. And I know you like that brat of hers." Wildwing scowled at the way Canard talked about Molly, "See you're about to scold me for calling Molly a brat!" Canard pointed out, "You may as well get on with it before something happens and it's too late."

"Wow," Dive continued to stare, "Canard approves of a girlfriend you chose for yourself!"

"Shut up brat." Canard scowled at the blond drake who promptly stuck his tongue out.

"What about you and Mallory?" Wildwing asked. "I know you two have started sharing your room permanently now, although you haven't actually mentioned it to anyone else." Wildwing smirked at Canard's surprised look.

"Well I…" Canard blushed and was very glad his feathers hid his blushes far better than Wildwing or Nosedive's ever did.

"Oooh!" Nosedive gave an evil grin in Canard's direction, "You and Mallory getting busy huh?"

"Thanks Wing." Canard folded his arms and glared at his friend. "Mallory will be so pleased your brother knows." Canard crossed his arms and glared at Wildwing in a semi-serious

"Would you people keep it down." A weak voice called from the bed. The trio looked to said bed and saw Duke opening his good eye and the eye patch that served as a mechanical eye flickered back to life. The grey mallard looked to each of his friends, finally settling on Wildwing "What was that I heard about you havin' a ring for Jessica?"


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18:**

"Is Duke going to be okay?" Molly asked Mookie whilst the young blonde flipped through a comic as she sat cross legged on the floor of the comic store behind the counter.

"They're super heroes kid!" Mookie smiled at the little girl she was tasked with watching. Nosedive and Thrash were in the other room sorting through the latest delivery. Her back was pulling again so she was more than happy to allow Nosedive to do her share of the lifting. "Duke will be fine in no time."

"Yeah but his arm's gone." Molly frowned whilst still looking at the comic but no longer flipping through. "How's he going to use his sword to fight the bad guys?"

"Awe hun!" Mookie knelt down and gave the little girl a hug, "When they find Tanya, she'll make him an epic new arm! You'll see."

"You promise?" Molly asked as she finally looked up at Mookie.

"Promise cutie." The punk girl grinned, "Want me to get my laptop and put a film on for ya?"

"Yes please." Molly smiled at her. The small blonde got up and carefully returned the comic book to where she had found it and returned to her spot behind the counter. Mookie returned with her laptop and selected a Ghibli movie that wasn't too scary for her and left it playing as she went through the store's accounts. Before long Molly was fast asleep in front of the screen and Mookie was done. As the boys entered the room she held a finger to her lips and pointed down beside her.

"I'd better get her back." Dive smiled at her, "Thanks for watching her girly girl."

"Anytime." Mookie beamed at the child as Dive picked her up gently, "She's way too cute."

"Yeah, she is." Nosedive grinned, "Uses it to get around me and Wing all the time. Wing more than me though. Anyway, see you guys later!" He winked then went to leave. He stopped at the back door where Grin had been waiting. "You know you could have come in." Dive smirked at the living giant who was playing sentry.

"I may not have seen the enemy coming." Grin said darkly.

"Okay man." Dive shrugged and began walking towards the parking lot and the pond, unaware that they were being watched.

"That movie was terrible!" Jessica laughed as they left the theatre. When he didn't respond she glanced up at him, "What is up with you?" Jessica placed a hand on his cheek in concern. It was early evening and Wildwing had planned to take Jessica out to dinner, but he had been tense since they'd left and beyond an arm around her shoulders there was very little interaction from him.

"Nothing!" Wildwing almost shouted then winced, "Sorry, nothings wrong. Why?"

"Because you seem nervous about something." Jessica wrapped her arms around his left arm and looked up at him, "You're not breaking up with me or something are you?" Wildwing looked at her in shock and Jessica panicked. "Wait, you are?!"

"No!" Wildwing said loudly, "No," he added more quietly then looked around, "I had this all planned but…" he pulled her to a less busy part of the sidewalk, ignoring the stares he was getting. He took a few steadying breaths, "I know this isn't the best setting but," he pulled the ring box out of his pocket and knelt down, "Will you marry me?"

"Excuse me?!" Jessica stared at the ring in shock, very aware that some of the crowd had stopped to watch what was going on, a few had even pulled their phones out and started recording what was happening. She was sure that her cheeks were bright red, possibly even her ears.

"Will you marry me?" Wildwing repeated this time sounding not so confident.

"First get up off the floor!" Jessica laughed and waited till he had, "And second, yes!" She flung her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek she stepped back and let him place the ring on her finger, admiring it, "It's gorgeous." She admired it for a bit ignoring the cheers of the few people who had been watching.

"Maybe we should get to the restaurant." Wildwing said as he leant down so only Jessica could hear.

"Yeah maybe we should." Jessica laughed. Wildwing pulled her away and they ran for a block, laughing all the way, before slowing down and ambling to the restaurant Wildwing had booked. Wildwing asked Jessica to order for them whilst he slipped off to the bathroom. He quickly messaged his brother to let him know that he'd got the answer he'd wanted. As he turned to return to the table;

"Wildwing!" The white mallard's blood ran cold at the scream. Wildwing changed to his battle gear and ran into the main restaurant. The patrons were huddled around the room with hunter drones and what looked like biker thugs guarding them, and there stood a white-haired man with an energy blade to his fiancé's throat.

"Let her go!" He said as calmly as he could.

"I suggest you remove your armour and your communicator and I won't hurt you pretty little friend here." Ikaru narrowed his eyes at his target. When Wildwing merely stood there glaring at him, Ikaru tightened his grip on the woman in his arms and pressed the blade hard against her neck. A thin trickle of blood seeped down from the small cut he had made, and Jessica whimpered. "Do it! Or she dies!"

"Don't hurt her!" Wildwing begged as he pressed the button on his comm to remove his armour then threw the comm towards Ikaru. "Who are you and what do you want?" Wildwing demanded as two drones took his arms and twisted them painfully behind his back.

"I'm your worst nightmare." Ikaru replied.

"My nightmare got a name?" Wildwing spat without missing a beat.

"I am called Ikaru." The white-haired man told him with a smirk.

"Let Jessica and these people go." Wildwing growled, "You have me. You don't need them."

"Actually…" Ikaru looked around at the terrified people then at the woman in his arms, "You know I do like your taste." He grabbed Jessica's chin and yanked her head around, so he could get a better look at the blonde, he sniggered as Wildwing began to struggle and yell at him, "You know there aren't any blondes on my planet." Wildwing instantly stopped at that and a murmur was heard from the huddled crowds. "Of course, I don't really have a planet anymore, but then you get the idea." He smirked at the restrained duck.

"Get your hands off her!" Wildwing bellowed. "You said…"

"I said I wouldn't hurt her!" Ikaru snarled, "I never once said I would let her go!" Wildwing paled under his feathers.

"Please." Wildwing begged quietly, "She has nothing to do with this. Please, just let her go." Ikaru only laughed and roughly released Jessica's chin. He walked over to Wildwing.

"No. I won't." He turned. "Kill the witnesses." The patrons began screaming as the remaining drones moved towards them.

"No!" Jessica screamed turning her head away as the shots fired. Wildwing struggled to free himself, to do anything to help them. To help Jessica. But there was nothing he could do and soon all was silent save for Jessica who was breathing a little too heavily for Wildwing's liking.

"Burn this place to the ground and return to base with the prisoners." Ikaru ordered.

"Snap!" Molly squealed as she won her round.

"I swear she's cheating!" Nosedive snorted.

"She's a kid Nosedive!" Mookie laughed.

"Yeah, it's not her fault she's smarter than you!" Thrash teased. It was then that the lights dipped. The occupants of the rec room stared up at the ceiling.

"What was that?" Mookie asked with a frown.

"Don't know." Dive admitted, "Stay here, I'll go check Drake One." He got up and trotted out of the room. A loud bang was followed by a yell and Mookie was quick to snatch Molly up into her arms and run to the other side of the room, away from the noise.

"What in hell is going on?! I've only just got Toby down!" Mary yelled from the living quarters carrying a now crying Toby in her arms.

"Mary! Take Toby and get out through the vehicle entrance, now!" Alex ordered as he carefully helped Duke out of the infirmary. "Thrash. Help Duke and take one of the vehicles. Get out of here. All of you!"

"And what about you doc?" Duke asked as he managed to be passed to Thrash without knocking his stump.

"Where's Nosedive?" Alex asked.

"He..he went to check the computer." Mookie replied as she hugged Molly close to her.

"Shit." Alex snapped.

"Alex! Not in front of the kids!" Mary scolded.

"Mary! Now is not the time to worry about a potty mouth!" Alex snapped. "All of you run!" Alex pulled a blaster out of his belt, which earned him a few raised eyebrows, but no one said anything. He ran over to the door to go and see if Nosedive needed help, but the door wouldn't open, and he could hear someone slamming against it on the other side. He took several steps back and flipped open his com, "Canard, Wildwing, Mallory? Anyone!" Alex yelled as he ran through the hallways after his family and friends.

"Canard here, what's going on?" Canard called down his own comm. Alex could hear the motorbike in the background and there was a flash of red telling him Mallory was on the bike with him.

"Someone or something is in the pond and I think they have Nosedive." Alex said panting a little. "I tried to get into the ready room, but the door wouldn't open, and someone was trying to get through from the other side." There was another explosion.

"Get out of there, now!" Canard ordered, "We're on our way. We'll deal with rescuing Nosedive; you guys get out of the pond and get the hell out of there. Take the Migrator and go!"

"What if Wildwing and Jessica come back and…" Alex started.

"We'll worry about that!" Canard snapped, "Just protect the kids! Jess will never forgive us if anything happens to Molly or you and your family for that matter!" Alex merely nodded and ran into the hanger. He skidded to halt at the scene before him. Grin was battling with hunter drones. He could see Thrash leaning out of the Migrator firing at anything that came too close. Alex fired his own weapon at the drones to help Grin as he made his way as best he could across the room without getting his head blown off.

"Anyone know how to drive this rig?" Alex asked as he jumped on board. No one piped up, so he dashed over to the driver's seat and started the vehicle up. "Get Grin in here!"

"Yo Grin!" Thrash called. The gentle giant leapt onto the Migrator and Alex stepped on the accelerator. Before long they were out of the base and speeding away from the Pond.

"Hey, where's Mookie and Molly?!" Mary asked trying to shush her crying baby.

"Mook had Molly and they were right behind me!" Thrash said looking around, "I thought they were just hiding behind something!" The human paled. Alex and Grin looked at each other.

"Canard," Alex called through the comm, "We have a problem."

"They're leaving us behind!" Molly squeaked to Mookie from their hiding spot behind a large piece of machinery.

"Shhh," Mookie hugged her close, "We gotta find our own way out. They just don't realise we're not there. They didn't mean to leave us." Mookie looked around and spotted an air vent. "Oh man, please let their freaky security be off in there." She said as she picked up Molly and darted over to the vent. She tried to pull it off, but she wasn't strong enough.

"Mookie!" Molly called out a warning, but she was too late. Mookie screamed in fright as she was pulled back by her hair. Molly was grabbed by her arm and started both screaming and crying. They were dragged back through the base and to the ready room where a groggy Nosedive was tied up in the corner. A trail of blood seeped down from a nasty cut on his forehead. There were plenty of bruises littering his body as well as a couple of burns on his arms and his side, where the blast had obviously caught him. Mookie and Molly were bound and shoved beside him.

"Are you guys okay?" Nosedive asked quietly. Molly just wailed and buried herself into his stomach as best she could with her hands behind her back.

"I think so." Mookie replied edging closer to him as well. "What are we gonna do?" She squeaked.

"Shut up human!" the Chameleon sneered raising his gun. Mookie let out a small scream and hid her head behind Nosedive.

"Get behind me both of you." Nosedive said glaring at the saurians that had invaded his home.

"Awe look at the ducky playing hero." Chameleon sneered. "Well guess what ducky, your big brother ain't gonna save you this time!"

"Oh yeah," Dive snarled, "And what makes you think that?"

"Yo, bird brain." Siege called from Drake One. He pressed a button and the screen flickered to life. The screen showed the image of a dark room and in the centre was his brother hanging from the ceiling by his wrists. "Your brother can't help no one right now." Dive paled as he took in the image of his brother, who had clearly just taken a nasty beating. Wildwing was unconscious, his shirt was missing, and ugly bruises could be clearly seen forming under his pure white feathers.

"And you can blame the human chickie dee for that!" The Chameleon morphed into a green version of Jessica and wiggled his hips at them.

"Where's my mom?!" Molly yelled suddenly. Nosedive shushed her as best he could.

"Awe poor wittle baby, you ain't gotta worry about your mamma anymore. Our new buddy Ikaru is gonna take good care of her." Siege sneered at the child cruelly. While Molly didn't understand what that could mean, Mookie and Dive did.

"You assholes better not hurt her!" Dive yelled. He wanted nothing more than to charge them, but that would leave Mookie and Molly open.

"And what are you gonna do about it?" Siege picked him up by the collar and growled in his face. Nosedive knew better than to test Siege and kept his beak shut. "That's what I thought." The saurian said then roughly threw the blonde back down.

"How'd you get your scally asses in here anyway?" Nosedive asked once he was sure that the girls were behind him again.

"Explosives." Siege replied.

"Really special ones!" Chameleon laughed.

"What are you waiting for?" Draganus growled over their comm units. "Get them out of there before the rest of the ducks show up.

"There's only three left!" Siege exclaimed.

"And yet somehow they always manage to beat the odds." Draganus growled, "So get that teleportation shield off and teleport them out of there. Take them to Limburger as arranged."

"I won't let you hurt them!" Nosedive yelled helplessly at them as he was grabbed again, being completely ignored. Siege and Chameleon soon teleported them away and when they appeared, they were in some sort of lab.

"Ah, some new test subjects for me?" A wheezy voice said from behind a table. The three prisoners watched as some sort of creature came into view. It looked vaguely human, it also looked like something out of Frankenstein with wires out of its head and a lab coat on with weird goggles over its eyes. "I was most disappointed that that beast Ikaru took the blonde woman from me. She would have been quite the specimen to work with." Karbunkle looked down at the trio then turned to a large man covered in some sort of grease and a strange looking creature. "Take them to the holding cells. And remove those bonds from the females. I don't want their outer skin layers damaged in any way and I think you can manage a small child and that skinny human."

"Whatever freak." Chameleon rolled his eyes but did as he was told before teleporting away.

"You'll love it here!" the short little mutant creature with one normal arm and one tentacle for an arm, skipped over to them and untied them. Mookie saw her chance and kneed the mutant in the stomach then kicked the greasy man as hard as she could in the knee. Dive crouched and kicked his captor's legs out from under him. Mookie grabbed Molly and they took off as fast as they could. Mookie was cursing herself for how unfit she was, but she kept going ignoring the throbbing in her back. She felt sick when she ended up in the lab again.

"What do we do?" Molly asked holding onto Mookie like a limpet.

"I don't know squirt." Mookie replied looking around the room for a weapon she might be able to figure out how to use.

"We gotta figure a way outta here. There's gotta be a vent or a door or something!" Dive said more to himself than the girls with him. He struggled with the bonds around his wrists again before growling in frustration.

When they heard someone coming Mookie took Molly and rushed over to the far side of the room, with Dive close on her heels. The purple haired punk grabbed what looked like a laser off the side as she went and hid in the back of a capsule like device with nosedive following suit. "Stay behind us squirt and whatever you do don't come out no matter what happens okay?" Molly nodded and curled up in a ball with tears silently leaking from her eyes and the occasional hiccups sounding from her throat. Mookie looked up at the footsteps coming their way and held up the laser with both hands. Dive could only growl in frustration.

"Come now little humans. Come little duckie" Karbunkle cooed. "If you come quietly I will make sure that the experiments are as painless as possible. No mutilations. Just chemical experimentation."

" _Yeah like that's gonna persuade us freako!"_ Mookie thought but stayed silent and held the gun as steady as she could. She screamed as Fred the Mutant came into view and opened fire. The small mutated creature seemed to enjoy being shot at and squealed in joy.

"Your turn!" He squealed and pulled out his own weapon and laughed maniacally.

"No! You fool!" Karbunkle yelled and grabbed Fred by the scalp. The scientist pulled hard and Fred fell back, but not before squeezing the trigger. The shot went wide and hit the controls. The panel sparked, and the transport module sprung to life. A glass panel slide down and Mookie stood up to bang on it. Just as they started to glow, Mookie crouched back down again and wrapped her arms around molly to shield her little friend from whatever was coming. Nosedive called out whilst kicking at the glass the whole time.

"Well that is rather disappointing." Karbunkle stated punching his pet mutant. "Ah well, we'll tell them that one of my experiments already killed them. They had other human friends I am sure I can get access to at some point."

Nosedive blinked away the spots in his eyes and looked around to see where they had ended up. They were surrounded by space ships and the ships he saw, definitely weren't from Earth. Nosedive maneuvered himself so that he could get his hands from behind his back so that they were in front of him, then turned to Mookie and Molly.

"You guys okay?" He asked as he helped them up.

"Where are we?" Mookie asked happily allowing Dive to take the blaster off her.

"No idea, but at least we're not in that lab." Dive admitted not wanting to even contemplate what the creepy doctor had planned for them.

"Dive?" Molly moved closer to him. Dive first looked down and then in the direction that Molly was looking. There were two men approaching them, one looked like a walking cat and the other a walking fish.

"Hi, um. Could you tell us the best way back to Earth?" Dive asked in a friendly manner.

"Earth?" The cat like creature at the front chuckled. "I suppose we could help you with transport." He smirked.

"Of course, it won't be to Earth." The fish creature beside him laughed. Nosedive raised the weapon he'd taken from Mookie and aimed it at them.

"Back off." He snarled.

"You think a guy with his hands tied up holding one laser pistol is gonna stop us from taking you guys and selling you as slaves?" The fish laughed. Nosedive growled and opened fire.

"Run!" He yelled to Mookie and Molly.

"But…" Mookie tried to protest as she was picking Molly up.

"Just run!" Dive yelled dodging a laser blast, "I'll catch up." Mookie frowned but did as she was told. She sprinted towards the nearest door to the large hanger they were in. This took her down a hallway. Less than a few minutes later she yelled out as something caught her feet. She fell to the ground and looked back to see some sort of energy rope around her ankles.

"Run Molly!" She screamed, "Gert out of here before they get you too!" Molly had tears running down her cheeks and, while she was moving backwards it was very slowly.

"I don't want to be alone." Molly whimpered.

"You won't be, we'll break loose and come find you!" Mookie lied, "Just run and hide till we do!" Molly squeaked as the cat man began stalking towards them, "Go!" Mookie yelled, and Molly finally took off as fast as she could away from the cat man, doing her best to ignore Mookie screaming as she was dragged back the way they had come.

"Come on!" a purple haired girl known as Angel grumbled, "Those parts are not worth that much!"

"And yet the next outpost is two days away." The Parak, a bird like alien, called Erek told her, "That's my price, take it or leave it pirate."

"Crook." Angel grumbled but handed over a bag with valuable crystals inside. Erek studied the contents of the bag and nodded.

"Pleasure doing business with you." He Smirked.

"Yeah yeah." Angel rolled her eyes and went to pick up the box that held her purchases. She looked over her shoulder at the sound of small feet running towards her. She watched as a small child ran past her in absolute terror. The girl glanced at them and slowed slightly but seemed to think better of it and continued down the hall. Not a moment later, a Plutarkian with gun in hand, was rushing after her.

"Don't you cause trouble on my station kid." Erek said in a bored tone to the purple haired teen.

"Funny, I could have sworn this was supposed to be a neutral zone." She pointed out. "Way I see it, they're the ones causing trouble. I'm just finishing it." She winked.

"Whatever." Erek shrugged. "Just don't damage the station. Angel smirked before taking her purchases and wondering after the running child and Plutarkian. Angel came across the Plutarkian searching through a large storage area. She placed the box of parts down and walked over to him silently. Leaning over him as he crouched down looking behind some boxes.

"You know it's not nice to chase little kids." Angel said in a playful tone. She stepped back as the Plutarkian jumped up and pulled a gun on her.

"What's it to you?!" He demanded.

"Let's just say that looking out for people, is what I do." Angel grinned. The Plutarkian studied her for a moment and then his face changed as if he came to some sort of realisation. Angel's grin grew.

"You're…" He backed away.

"Tell you what." Angel said sweetly, "Leave this station now, and I might let you live." The Plutarkian didn't need to be told twice and the odorous Plutarkian took off at a run. Angel grabbed him by the collar before he could leave completely, secretly placing a tracker on him. "Don't let me catch you hunting for slaves again, stink fish." He nodded and sprinted off when she let him go. Angel took a breath and calmly listened for the smallest of sounds to tell her where the child she had seen was hiding. She heard a small quivering breath to her right on the other side of the room to where the Plutarkian had been looking. She walked over to the area and crouched down in front of the boxes that she was sure the child was hiding behind. "I'm not going to hurt you kid." She said calmly, "But you aren't going to get anywhere wondering around this station. And if you're in trouble you'd be better off finding help than hiding." The Amayan teen could sense the fear oozing off the child and sighed, "Listen, I won't hurt you. If you come out I can help you." This seemed to strike a chord and the child popped her head out from behind the boxes. "Hi, my name's Angel. What's yours?"

"Molly." The human child replied as she looked at the girl in front of her. She looked almost human. She had red eyes that Molly found slightly frightening, and her hair was a vibrant purple that was tied into a high pony tail. Markings on her face framed her eyes, a diamond shape on her forehead, with two claw shaped triangles above each eyebrow and slightly larger ones under her eyes. All of the markings were a light purple colour. She was wearing all black, but Molly didn't think there was anything scary about her. "You're one of the good guys?" She asked.

"Well, I wouldn't put it like that exactly." Angel admitted, "But I don't hurt little girls or the innocent for that matter."

"Like Robin Hood?" Molly asked with a grin.

"I don't know who that is, but I'm not going to hurt you, so why don't you come out?" Angel held her hand out, "Then you can tell me what happened, and I can see about helping you get home." Molly took Angel's hand and allowed the purple haired alien to help her up. "Come on cutie, let me get my stuff to my ship and we can see about sorting this mess out." Angel led the child to her ship and sat her down in her kitchen. The entire walk, Molly had blurted out her entire day to Angel as they had walked. Before Angel really responded, she popped the box on the table and turned to Molly with, what she hoped was a kind smile.

"So, that Plutarkian creep took your friends?" Angel asked, receiving a nod. "And this is your uncle and your friend?"

"No…well, kind of. My mom and Nosedive's big brother are going out." Molly told her, "My mom really likes his brother. I really like him too." The little girl frowned. "I wanna go home!" She stated before showing the signs of a child about to cry. Angel paled.

"Awe, now don't cry." Angel pleaded, her face fell as Molly began wailing, "Crying isn't going to help get you home." Angel told her which resulted in the crying becoming louder, "But if you stop crying I promise to help you!" Angel yelled over the noise, with her hands over her ears. Molly didn't completely stop but she calmed down enough that she was only hiccupping and sniffing. Molly sniffed, loudly, wiped her eyes and looked up at Angel.

"But I can't go home without Nosedive," Molly said sadly, "Wildwing would be really sad. He loves his little brother. And Thrash would be sad if Mookie didn't come home too." Angel sighed.

"Then I guess I had better go get your friends from those creeps then, huh?" Angel winked. Pleased that the wailing had stopped for the moment. Out of the corner of her eye, Angel noticed something black trotting over to Molly. She didn't react and allowed her pet to jump onto Molly's lap. Molly squeaked in surprise then looked down at the black cat like creature with two tails and huge blue eyes. "So, whilst I go find your friends. Why don't you play with Moogie?" Angel smirked at her.

"Moogie?" Molly asked stroking the cat's fur. Moogie purred and pressed into her hand with his eyes closed.

"Yep. He's my Psion." Angel explained. "He can do all sorts of cool things and will look after you whilst I go get your friends from those slav…um… bad guys." Angel grinned, hoping Molly was too young to know what slavery was.

"Okay." Molly said wrapping her arms around Moogie's middle and cuddling the psion to her chest. Her small pet let out a small squeak of discomfort but did nothing to stop the child from embracing him.

"I'll be back as soon as possible okay." Angel told her. "Don't leave this ship."

"Miss Angel?" Angel and stopped and looked back at her expectantly, "Thank you."

"You're welcome sweetie." Angel said and left the ship to find the child's missing friends.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19:**

Angel pressed a button on her wrist band and her clothes changed to a more form fitting black outfit complete with her twin blades and pistol strapped to the small of her back. Pressing another button on her wrist band, a holographic map of the supply station appeared above her wrist. The small beacon from the tracker was on the other side of the station in another hanger port to the one she had used. It didn't take long to get there and even less time to find the Plutarkian ship that they were using. The Plutarkian was stood outside as if standing guard. She moved swiftly and silently, and, with a powerful spinning kick, he was soon unconscious on the floor. Inside she could hear a male shouting, so she headed further into the ship where she found a Catatonian beating a purple haired human woman. It wasn't every day you saw one human let alone meet two of them, especially given that they were well over two galaxies away from Earth. Which meant that these two were the friends Molly had spoken of. To the right was an already roughed up blonde whom figured must be Nosedive. He looked similar to a Parak, but the beak was different and Paraks tended to have more than one tone to their body feathers. This guy simply had a light-yellow colour to his feathers with a darker blonde for his hair. The last of which was another difference. Paraks didn't have hair, they had feathered plumage on their heads instead. Aside from the beak and the feathers, this guy could easily have been human or Amayan.

"Leave her alone!" Nosedive yelled at the cat who was tearing at Mookie's clothing. Angel pulled out one of her blades and rushed forward.

"You heard the man." She growled menacingly, with her blade now held to the cat's throat, "Let her go." The cat had frozen and with a small nudge he was on his feet and backing away.

"And here I thought you would be taller." The cat spat, "Or older at least."

"Well appearances can be deceptive." Angel rolled her eyes, "On your knees." She ordered, and the cat obliged. She moved forward and activated some energy bonds that bound his arms to his sides. She then turned to Nosedive and Mookie.

"Not that we're not grateful, but who are you?" Nosedive demanded as Angel finally removed the bonds from his wrists. He rubbed the welts that had appeared from struggling to get them off.

"Angel." She replied simply and moved to help Mookie. "Are you okay?" Nosedive blinked at the sudden softness in the strange girl's voice. Not a moment before her voice had been hard and almost terrifying. Now she sounded kind and gentle. Mookie nodded and allowed the girl to help her up.

"Dive, what are we gonna tell Jess and Wildwing!" Mookie exclaimed sadly.

"I…" Nosedive couldn't finish.

"Tell them what?" Angel asked.

"That the brat they came here with is dead!" The Catatonian spat then turned to Nosedive, "Am I right?"

"I wasn't asking you." Angel growled at him dangerously, "And if you're talking about Molly, then the stink fish lied. She's safe and sound on my ship. If a little shaken." Angel was looking at the cat curiously. "Pretty worried about you two and her mom though." She admitted then walked over to a computer console close to Nosedive. Dive stepped out of the way to let her do whatever it was she wanted to do.

"Thank you!" Mookie lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Angel's waist and hugged her saviour. Angel raised a brow and looked down at her but didn't push her off.

"For what?" Angel asked as she typed at the console.

"You saved her right?" Nosedive answered for Mookie who stood up straight with a relieved grin on her face.

"I got her out of danger if that's what you mean." Angel replied.

"So, thank you for saving her." Dive reiterated Mookie's previous exclamation. "She's just a kid and…"

"Don't gush." Angel said then found what she was looking for, "It's what I do. As for you," she turned and indicated to the cat, "You and your friend seem to have been making a name for yourselves as slave traders."

"So, what!" He spat at her.

"Well, I just happen to be good friends with some higher ups in the GA and you've been crossing their borders to find your slaves. Not to mention breaching neutrality laws in various areas." Angel's smirk grew, and Nosedive spotted a small gleam in her eye that reminded him of the way Duke looked at jewels.

"What of it?" The Cat growled as he struggled to free himself from his bonds.

"Well there's a pretty hefty bounty on your heads." Angel walked forward. And I'm guessing, since this is a Plutarkian vessel, there's a transport module on here somewhere. Which means I can teleport you to a GA holding prison, collect my bounty and sell this heap to the owner of the station for a nice tidy profit. All in all, a pretty happy coincidence. For me at least." She kicked him hard, knocking him out cold then turned to Dive and Mookie.

"Let's get you back to my ship first though okay?" She said with a smile, "Those burns look pretty nasty," she indicated to Nosedive's arm and side that had been injured back at the Pond, he had completely forgotten about them. Now that she'd mentioned them, though, they were starting to make themselves known, "and you both have some nasty cuts and bruises. I can clean you guys up and my medical console can check for any internal issues. Then I can deal with these low lives." Mookie and Nosedive looked at each other then back at her, before nodding.

Cleghorn groaned as he rubbed his temples. Less than an hour before he had sent a team out to a restaurant on the other side of town. His men had found a blood bath, but no perpetrators. It was later discovered that one of the deceased had been vlogging for their website and had caught the entire incident on their phone. Unfortunately, it had also been live streamed to whatever website the deceased had been running and thousands of people had seen the footage and had shared it everywhere in turn. Not five minutes after the call about the restaurant, the precinct had received a call about an explosion at the pond. The call had been made from one of the cleaning staff who, he understood, was hysterically screaming about bombs and dead bodies.

Given where it was, he had decided to attend this call himself. He had taken a few armed officers with him, as well as a small team from the bomb squad and had rushed over. Sure, enough the entrance hall and about a quarter of the stadium was collapsed in on itself. Cleghorn had immediately ordered his men to search the area to ensure that there were no more bombs and to assess the situation. When it was clear that there was no more danger beyond the structural integrity of the building, he allowed the first response units to do their job as he took a look around.

"Pick up bird brains." He grumbled as he first tried Wildwing and then the newcomer Canard.

"We're busy right now captain." Canard snapped.

"You and me both!" Cleghorn snapped right back. "I'm at the pond, or what's left of it! Where the hell are you guys?"

"We're using the vehicle entrance." Canard said and sure enough Cleghorn could hear a slight echo that indicated that the tan mallard was in a tunnel. "The saurians have attacked the base and taken hostages!"

"Well you got dead up here!" Cleghorn growled, "I think it's time you birds let us deal with something!"

"Sir!" Cleghorn turned to the uniformed officer that addressed him. "I just got a call from our guys at that restaurant attack."

"Yeah?" Cleghorn encouraged so that he could finish giving Canard a piece of his mind.

"Turns out one of the ducks was there too." The officer reported, "The one called Wildwing."

"Wildwing?!" Canard called over the phone line.

"Let him speak!" Cleghorn snapped darkly.

"Yes. It seems he was with that human girlfriend of his for a meal when the restaurant was attacked." The officer told his superior officer, "But they can't find either of them, alive or dead."

"Which means the perps took them with them and either killed them and dumped them or have them hostage somewhere." Cleghorn sighed. "This is going to be a long night."

"Do they know who took them?" Canard asked over the line.

"Um, no sir." The officer replied when Cleghorn gave him a questioning look, "They're retrieving the phone and the video footage now. We should know more soon though."

"You at your base yet?" Cleghorn asked.

"We've made it to the hanger." Canard told them. "And it's a mess."

"Quiet too." Mallory said into the com, "Where are all the drones. There should be drone sentries down here." Mallory added in more of a mutter.

"Evans." Cleghorn addressed the officer who snapped to attention, "Keep this place secure. I don't want anyone near here. Especially the press. You got me?"

"Yes sir." He replied with a nod and trotted off towards the police cordons.

"Your security on or off?" Cleghorn asked.

"Looks like it's been deactivated." Canard confirmed.

"Or maybe an issue caused by the explosions?" Mallory suggested.

"Well, I don't think I can get down the elevator with the damage." Cleghorn admitted with a frown, "But you birds need help. So, I need to know how I can get down there with a few men."

"I don't think..." Canard tried to protest.

"No excuses this time Canard." Cleghorn growled. "There are civilians dead and while I know Wildwing can take care of himself, that woman he dates is a civilian too. The public aren't going to take lightly to what's going on and all I need right now is a panic." Cleghorn indicated to a few nearby officers to join him and walked closer to the building. "Now tell me how to get down there!"

"There's no one here." Canard declared after a few minutes pause.

"What?" Cleghorn demanded.

"There's no one here!" Canard clarified, "I've just checked with the mask. There is no one left down here. Just a few destroyed drones."

"They must have taken them." Mallory said sounding sick to the stomach.

"Who's missing?" Cleghorn groaned again.

"Nosedive, Molly and Dive's friend Mookie." Mallory supplied.

"They took the Fury kid?!" Cleghorn exclaimed, "Oh the press are gonna have a field day with that! The two of you had better meet me back at the station. I need statements. And bring any security footage you have. We may be able to get something from it."

"We'll meet you there." Canard said with a resigned tone to his voice.

Jessica woke up with a jolt. It took her several moments to figure out where she was before she remembered. They had been attacked. She and Wildwing had been taken and the other people in the restaurant had been slaughtered before them, before they had been teleported away. She had felt the panic attack taking hold as the patrons were being killed but as they had strung up Wildwing from his wrists from the ceiling of a dark cell and started beating him, then her hyperventilating had taken over and she couldn't remember much else. Looking around, it was obvious that she had been placed in her own cell. The Chameleon was stood just outside looking very bored. Just then his communicator went off and he jumped as if being woken up.

"Yeah, what is it?" The Chameleon whined into the device.

"Just making sure you ain't sleeping on the job you waste of space." Siege spat down the line.

"I'm awake!" Chameleon continued to whine, "Jeez, it's just some human woman. I mean she fainted like some damsel in distress from some old Earth movie!" Jessica felt herself go bright red at the description. "It's not like she's gonna be any trouble. I'll bet I've just gotta say boo and she'll be a simpering mess." This time Jessica scowled.

" _I am not that pathetic!"_ she thought to herself. _"So, what if my anxiety takes over sometimes."_ She thought to herself. She looked at the bars and then at the Chameleon. She stood up and silently made her way closer to see more of the outside of her cell. She did what she could to control her breathing. Mallory had once told her that the saurian cells had electrified bars and that gave her an idea. She waited for her moment.

"Just don't mess this up or that Ikaru guy won't be happy." Siege said before the line went dead.

"No respect!" Chameleon spat. Jessica took her moment and lunged. She was carful not to touch the bars herself, but her arms went around the saurian's neck in a choke hold that Eric had once shown her. She slammed his body against the bars and there was an instant reaction. The saurian yelped but his body convulsed for several minutes as the electricity course through his body, then he slumped to the ground. Jessica carefully searched for anything that looked like a control or a key for the cell and found a keyring with card like devices dangling from it. She grabbed this off his belt and looked around to find a panel on the wall outside her cell. She awkwardly reached around and waved the keyring in front of this panel and, to her great surprise the bars shimmered, then disappeared. Jessica went to leave but had second thoughts. So, she turned and dragged Chameleon into the cell. She removed the communicator from his wrist and his blaster from his gun belt, then reactivated the bars before jogging away from her prison, the key cards in her pocket.

After a few minutes she heard someone coming and looked around desperately for somewhere to hide. Above her was a vent with several pipes. She grimaced at what she was going to attempt. It would either result in her successfully evading capture again, or she would make a complete fool of herself and wind up straight back in her cell, or worse. Jessica took a few steps back, stuffed the blaster in her waist band. With two bounding steps she jumped and grabbed the strongest looking pipe with both hands. Waiting a few very short moments to ensure she had a good grip, she swung her body and on the third swing, she aimed her feet at the vent and used the momentum of her final swing to, not only kick the grate out of her way, but also to swing her body around to slide into the vent itself. She quickly, and as silently as she could, replaced the vent and waited for the approaching enemy to walk past. She saw the saurian she knew as Wraith and also Draganus stalking past. She hoped that they weren't planning on checking on the Chameleon and were planning to go another way or she might end up on the wrong end of one of their lasers. Once they were far enough away for her liking, she began crawling through the grates. She would peer though every grate she came to in the ventilation system, hoping to find her goal. After what seemed like forever, she finally saw a white figure in a distant grate further ahead. She crawled over to it and peered through. Wildwing was alone and looked more than a little worse for wear. Jessica couldn't tell if he was conscious or not from her angle, but she had come too far to back out now and if she stopped to think about what she was doing for too long, she would likely have another panic attack. So, she scrambled around and kicked out the grate.

"Who's there?" Wildwing demanded, sounding more confident that he felt. He tried to look behind him, to where the sound had come from, but it was too difficult. Jessica on the other hand ran over to where she vaguely remembered the seeing saurians controlling the pulley that held Wildwing aloft. She managed to get it to lower him before running over to him.

"We have to get out of here!" She said ignoring his questioning look. "Come on!" She insisted as she unhooked the ropes around his wrists from the chain.

"Are you insane!" He hissed following her back to the vent she had come from.

"Shh!" She hushed as she tried to figure out how to get them both back up to the vent that was just out of reach.

"Don't shush me!" Wildwing snapped, "You could be killed! And what would Molly do then!"

"I'm pretty sure I'd be dead if I waited to be rescued anyway so shut up and help me figure out how to get us back up to that vent before anyone comes looking for us!" She scowled at him. Wildwing looked back at her in surprise. The only other time he'd seen her like this was when she'd rescued him from Zachery. "And Molly is not losing another father figure if I can help it." Her scowl softened, "She adores you. I couldn't do anything to help Eric, but I am not going to stand by and let them take you from me, from us, too." She looked up to him, "Now damn well help me!" Wildwing sighed and held out his hands.

"You know it would be a lot easier if you blasted these ropes off." He smiled at her.

"I'm not sure I'm that good of a shot." Jessica said nervously, "and I can't see a knife anywhere in here." Wildwing moved forward and brushed his left thumb across her chin.

"I trust you." He encouraged, "And I know you've been practicing with Mallory."

"All right, but if I blow one of your hands off, do not blame me!" She said with a frown.

"Promise." He chuckled as he held his hands above his head to give her a better shot. He pulled the bonds as far apart as he could, and Jessica took aim. With a steadying breath Jessica pulled the trigger. Wildwing grunted as the laser grazed the inside of his right wrist.

"You're bleeding!" Jessica exclaimed quietly grabbing the injured hand. Wildwing lifted her chin with the other.

"It's just a scratch." He soothed her, "Let's get out of here okay." Jessica nodded before looking back up at the vent. "I'll give you a boost." He told her. "Now my hands are free, I can probably jump and pull myself up."

"You're sure?" Jessica asked, still looking up at the vent, "I'm probably strong enough to act as a boost then you can pull me…"

"Jess," Wildwing caught her attention, "I'm at least twice your weight! I'll help you up."

"Fine." Jessica was chewing her inside lip which was a sure sign his fiancé was likely to experience some sort of panic attack if he didn't keep her thinking ahead. He stood under the vent and laced his fingers together to give her something to stand on. He helped her up before stepping back a few paces to jump the distance needed. He caught hold of the opening and hoisted himself up into the vent. Jessica grabbed him around the left arm and pulled as he did so. When they were both safely in the vent he made sure to replace the grate before Jessica indicated to follow her.

"You know where we're going?" He asked in a whisper.

"No, but back that way is the cell I woke up in, so I'm heading away from it." Jessica shrugged. They crawled through the ventilation system for some time when they heard commotion in the halls beneath them.

"Took them long enough." Wildwing muttered, assuming they had realised that their captives had escaped. He heard Jessica's breathing quicken in front of him and he reached forward. There wasn't enough room to do more than rub her calf, "It's okay Jess, we'll get out of this." He soothed as a group of drones had marched around the corner beneath them, "Let's keep going." Jessica didn't trust herself to reply and simply nodded to him. She continued to crawl through the vent safe in the knowledge that Wildwing was close behind. Wildwing was taking in the facility they found themselves in. While he hadn't seen the outside, he was sure that this wasn't the raptor. But it was certainly a facility that was being run by the saurians, which meant the saurians had help. Likely human. He grunted when Jessica had stopped in front of him and he hadn't noticed, "Jess?"

"Looks like a hanger." She told him as she leaned to the side, so he could get a better look.

"And with vehicles like that," he said more to himself than to Jessica, "I'm guessing an exit isn't too far away." He watched as Jessica twisted and kicked the grate out of their way. She dropped down into the hanger and was soon joined by her fiancé. Wildwing took her hand and led her over to one of the vehicles and tried to figure out how to get it started. Jessica on the other hand spotted what looked like someone's dune buggy. She walked over to it and saw that it would hold two passengers. "Get down!" Wildwing yelled as he pushed her to the floor. He pulled the blaster out of her waist band and began firing at a group of drones and some of the biker types that had been at the restaurant. Jessica could see they needed to get out of there fast, so she crawled over to the dune buggy and hot wired it. Once it roared to life she jumped into the driver's seat.

"Get in!" She yelled to Wildwing. He didn't need telling twice. He jumped into the passenger seat and Jessica floored it. She swerved to avoid a particularly large blast and daylight could then be seen through the hole caused in the wall. She made a hard turn and they were soon out of the facility and driving furiously across dessert lands. Wildwing took aim at anyone who dared come too close to them, allowing Jessica to concentrate on ensuring that their vehicle didn't crash in some way.

"You even know where we're going?!" Wildwing yelled over the noise of the engine.

"Away from the bad guys!" She yelled back.

"Damn it!" Wildwing grunted as a laser blast tore through his left arm leaving a deep gauge.

"What's wrong?" Jessica demanded as she swerved to avoid a cluster of rocks.

"Nothing," Wildwing fired at another dune buggy, successfully shooting the right tire at the front and he was sure the driver would not be getting up from that crash. He had to tell himself it was something he had to do. He wouldn't let them take Jessica from Molly. "Keep driving!"

"A town!" Jessica yelled. As she narrowed her eyes to figure out if she recognised it or not. Wildwing looked over his shoulder. On the one hand, there would be cover and a way to contact the team to come and help them. On the other hand, it could put innocents in danger. He could see no other cover and made a split-second decision.

"Drive into the town." He yelled, "We'll find a place to hide you and split up! I'll draw them away and you can find a way to call the others!"

"No way!" Jessica tried to protest.

"Don't argue!" He bellowed back, "I want you to be sa..." The dune buggy lurched as the two back tyres were shot out. It was all Jessica could do to keep it under control. When another shot took out the front right tyre, she felt Wildwing grab her around the waist and leap off the vehicle before it flipped several times, finally skidding to a stop and bursting into flames, before finally exploding. Wildwing held Jessica close to him to protect her as they flew through the air as if in slow motion. As he hit the ground, he held on more tightly as he rolled along the dirt. When he came to stop he groaned in pain. He was sure he had a concussion and if his ribs weren't broken from the beating he'd taken, they were now. He wheezed as his lungs tried to get precious air into his lungs.

"Wildwing?" he heard Jessica call for him, but it seemed so far away. He could just about hear something else as well. It sounded like sirens. That was all he knew before he passed out.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20:**

 **I'm in another city for work at the moment (makes me sound very posh but I can assure you I am broke as you know what! XD) I want to thank the following for their reviews:**

 **Larcenyleftinme** **, thank you for being my first review! I hope you are still enjoying my story.**

 **And**

 **FishyFloat** **; Thank you so much for your amazing review! I've worked really hard on this, so I am really pleased that it's being so well received. And don't worry, I intend to finish this, but it is a long one! I have been working on this for about 2 years already and have already virtually scrapped about 15 chapters and completely overhauled them, but I do have 25 chapters that are virtually ready, and I hope to be uploading shortly. There may be the occasional break when I am creating one of my cosplays or when I am doing an assignment for my course through work. But I will keep going on this one I promise! I started it, so I could figure out where I was going with my BMFM fic 'New Blood' which I've finally added a new chapter to and will soon be able to complete that one!**

 **Anywho! Thank you both, again! And on with the Fic! 3**

Tanya avoided the guard's gaze, but he still grabbed her by the hair and sneered at her. He roughly pushed her down the hall towards the lab. There was someone new beside her, a human. She was a red head and she did not look like she was going to take being pushed around. When the guard pushed Tanya again, this time to her knees the woman body checked him then knelt down to help the blonde duck to her feet.

"Are you okay?" She asked with a kind smile. Tanya just nodded, she'd given up trying to talk about a week prior. She could barely get a sentence out any more and it was less mortifying to simply not speak. The red head was pulled back by her wrist and she was face to face with the Plutarkian guard, "What?" She spat angrily.

"You need to learn your place woman!" The guard leered.

"Or you'll what?" She sneered back at him, if she was afraid, Tanya couldn't tell. "From what I can tell, you need us for this little project of yours! If we die or you render us unable to work, then this project slows down. And I'm guessing your bosses won't like that, will they?" The guard growled but let her go. She immediately went back to Tanya's side and helped her to her feet. "I'm Charlie," she said softly as they continued their morning journey to the lab," You?"

"T…T…" Tanya grimaced. She couldn't even speak to someone who was trying to help her. At the patient look she received, she took a deep breath and decided to try again, "Tan…Tanya."

"Nice to meet you Tanya." Charlie smiled kindly.

"Wh..Why..?" Tanya gave an exasperated sigh.

"Why'd I help you?" Charlie asked and received a nod, "I saw the beating you took last night. They pick on you more cause they can, right?" Tanya shuddered and nodded. "Well, my pa always said girls should stick together." She smiled, "That and I know who you are." Charlie added with a shrug. Tanya looked at her.

"Are…Y..You a…"Tanya paused, "Hock..Hockey fan?" She finished pleased that she finished a sentence at least.

"Not really. I watch the occasional game." Charlie shrugged.

"Then…" Tanya looked confused.

"You know a friend of mine actually." Charlie said with a slight sadness to her voice. At Tanya's curious look, "Jessica Fury." Tanya's eyes went wide but wasn't able to react as they had reached the lab and they would be beaten if they tried to talk during working hours with the exception of asking for extra supplies or required tech or tools. Tanya made a point to try and ask Charlie more about this once the day was over.

Nosedive flexed his injured arm, trying to ignore the attention he was getting from their saviour as she gently rubbed a gel onto the burns there before moving to the wounds on his side. For someone who looked so human, he had to admit she was very pretty, had she been a duck, he would have been all over her. Her thick purple hair shone like a jewel and her blood red eyes were both terrifying and beautiful at the same time. He kept staring at them. After all, he had only ever seen such a colour in saurian eyes. Yet this girl acted nothing like a saurian. Angel frowned as she reached his wrist where his com had been.

"This is old." She said quietly to herself as she studied the old scars there. She picked up his other hand and found matching scars on that hand as well. "You don't look that old. Where did you..?"

"A bunch of creeps called Saurians, took over my planet. My brother and I…" He looked to make sure Molly wasn't close enough to hear then finished quietly, "We were captured and put in their slave camps. I was pretty young when we were first caught, and chains don't really grow with the person wearing them, if you know what I mean." He laughed bitterly, "Wing had to do some pretty nasty things to get our jailers to change them for me before I lost the use of my hands or something." He looked up to find Angel had a look of both anger and sadness on her face.

"I'm sorry." She said turning her head away, "No one should have to go through that." She added before getting up, "Make yourself at home. I'll clean up Mookie then show you guys around before we get going."

"We can't pay you." Dive added a little bitterly, "We're miles from anywhere and I'm pretty sure nothing from Earth is going to interest you."

"You think I want something in return for helping you?" She asked with a raised brow.

"Well, don't you?" He asked looking away feeling dejected. She walked over to him. When he looked back she slapped him. It wasn't hard, but it was enough to sting.

"The Plutarkians and their allies may call me a pirate. But I help people. Yes, I make money where I can. But without this ship and money to fuel and repair it, I can't keep doing what I do best." She told him sternly. "You don't want my help, just say so and I'll drop you off at the nearest Galactic Alliance outpost. You can wait for them to get around to helping you." She looked at him, "Well?!" Nosedive looked at her as if confused and she rolled her eyes, "Listen, I wasn't even born when I lost my planet and the majority of my people. I'm one of only a handful of Amayans left in this universe. So, I help people. Doesn't really matter who. If they're in danger and aren't the bad guys, then they qualify."

"Why?" Dive asked quietly.

"Because I couldn't help the people who needed me most." She sighed. "I couldn't help my family."

"But you said yourself. You weren't born." Dive pointed out.

"You think that makes it any easier." She asked, her eyes cold as if hiding whatever real emption she was feeling at that moment, "I lost family I never even got to know. My siblings. My father. My mother was killed by those monsters when I was just 4 years old and I've been alone since." She looked away, "I barely even remember her."

"How did you survive?" Dive asked curiously.

"You don't want to know." She snapped before moving over to Mookie and Molly who were now listening to the conversation intently. Her face softened again, and she began tending to Mookie's wounds. Nosedive muttered something about needing the bathroom and Molly said she would show him where it was as she had already found it.

"He didn't mean to upset you." Mookie said.

"I know." Angel replied, "I'm just not used to the people I help taking any interest in me is all."

"It sounds like you had a tough life." Mookie said sadly.

"I did." Angel replied, "But there are plenty pf people who have had it worse than I have. Besides, I fought for everything I have now and I'm happy helping people." They went silent as Angel finished treating Mookie's wounds and allowing her medical console to do the rest before treating anything that required a dressing.

"Hey." Nosedive said, and the two women looked up at him, "Uh, I'm sorry about earlier." He kicked his right foot on the ground nervously, hardly daring to make eye contact with Angel, "Um, I don't suppose you have anyway of contacting Earth at all, do you?"

"Sure." Angel smiled as she stood up straight, "I think I can figure something out." She picked up his communicator and studied it. "This is your team's communication device, right?"

"Yeah." Dive answered.

"Follow me." She told the trio noticing that Moogie was on Molly's shoulders again. She led them to the control room at the head of the ship and connected the comm unit to her own computer. With some fiddling, "Hah!" She exclaimed then with a little more work;

"..ive? ...me in! Nose… it's Canar…!" Nosedive sighed with relief.

"Canard, can you hear me?" He called.

"The li.. is.. pretty …or." Canard replied.

"Listen, Molly Mookie and me are all okay. Someone's helping us get home. But they've got Wing and Jess!" Dive clenched his fists hoping to any deity that would listen that Canard would get the message.

"W… know." Canard assured them, "We'll …nd…them. Whe… …re... you?"

"This line's not going to hold much longer." Angel warned.

"Tell mommy and Wildwing I love them!" Molly shouted desperately.

"Tell them I'll keep her safe." Dive added, "Tell Thrash, Mookie's safe with me too." Mookie smiled at him gratefully.

"Be …full, we'll… f…y… br…" Canard said before the line fizzled out.

"Angel." Molly pulled at Angel's sleeve, "I wanna go home. Can we go home now?" Molly asked with tears in her eyes as she hugged Moogie to her.

"Sure, thing cutie." Angel said and laughed softly as Molly let out a big yawn. "Come on, I'll show you guys where you can sleep. I'll set a course for Earth whilst you guys crash for a while."

"Wildwing?" Jessica asked as Wildwing stirred on the hospital bed he had been placed on. The local town's authorities had shown up to help them. She'd been told that the pond had been attacked and that there were more of the team missing but no one would tell her who. All she knew was that Canard, Mallory and Grin were on their way to the hospital that they had been taken to. In the meantime, Jessica had been cleaned up and her cuts and bruises treated, where needed. Now she sat by Wildwing's side as she waited for him to wake up and he was beginning to stir.

"Jess!" He went to sit up suddenly, but Jessica was quick to push him back.

"Shh, it's okay." She soothed, "I'm right here." She added as she smoothed his hair gently.

"What happened?" He asked looking around him, "How did we get here?"

"Turns out someone one set up a live stream on their phone at the restaurant so the whole country's been looking for us." She explained, "the local sheriff's department came to our rescue." She informed him. She frowned, "Wing," She took a steadying breath, "The pond was attacked."

"Is anyone…"

"I don't know." She said forlornly. "I can't get anything out of anyone! All I know is Canard, Mallory and Grin are on their way here." She leant forward to rest gently on his chest. His arms wrapped around her, "I do know that more of the team are missing. I just don't know who!" She felt Wildwing squeeze her and could feel his heart quicken in worry.

"It's Nosedive, Mookie and Molly." Canard said solemnly as he entered the room with the rest of his able-bodied team at his heels.

"What?!" Jessica shot up, "Molly's missing?!" Jessica rushed over to Canard, "What do you mean she's missing? What happened? Where is my daughter?" behind her Wildwing was struggling to sit up.

"Nice one Canard." Mallory rolled her eyes and steered Jessica to a chair as the woman began hyperventilating. She made sure to sit her down and was pleased to see that Grin was ensuring that Wildwing laid back down. "Nosedive has already managed to get a message to us through the comm units. They're all okay, we just don't know where they actually are."

"No offense Mallory, but that doesn't make me feel any better." Jessica felt herself slipping into a panic attack. She groaned and held her head as she tried to control her breathing. She leant down and placed her head on her knees with her eyes closed. The more frustrated with herself at the lack of control, the worse her breathing got and the more she lost control of herself, which just resulted in the attack building. "I can't breathe." She whimpered quietly to no one in particular.

"What's…" Canard asked.

"Panic attack." Wildwing said waving Grin away and grabbing a glass of water from the side table. He moved himself to the side of the bed where he could sit in front of her and rubbed her shoulder to get her attention. "Small sips." He told her, and she allowed him to hold the glass to her lips as Jessica did as she was told. After several minutes of Wildwing and Mallory talking to her and, once most of the water was gone, she got her breathing under control. She whimpered again and leant forward into Wildwing's chest. Mallory quickly took the glass and helped Wildwing back into bed properly whilst allowing Jessica to curl up beside him. Jessica fell asleep at his side almost instantly. "She said they wiped her out." Wildwing muttered to himself.

"What just happened?" Canard demanded with his arms folded and a pointed look at his friend. "And how did you get away from Draganus?"

"Jessica gets panic attacks." Wildwing explained, "She's told me about them, and how to deal with them, but that's the first one I've ever actually seen first-hand." He sighed and held her closer, "They're really okay." He asked his team.

"Well, it sounded like them." Canard shrugged, and it was definitely Nosedive's comm unit contacting us." Canard replied.

"Dive promised to keep them safe." Grin assured. Wildwing closed his eyes as if in pain and squeezed Jessica slightly in his arms.

"Knowing that brat he'll pull it off too." Canard tried to lighten the mood but earned a glare from most in the room. "Wing." Canard waited till he had his friend's full attention, "Phil was killed in the attack. The police and the government are involved. We've got more help, but…" Canard clenched his fists in anger.

"It wasn't your fault Canard." Wildwing told him.

"With the damage done to the base, we're going to need to ask for help from the humans to fix it." Canard growled, "Which means there'll be more people who know information about our base. It could put them in danger as well."

"Well we'll have to figure something out to ensure that they are kept safe." Wildwing reasoned, although he was aware it would be easier said than done.

Angel hummed a tune to herself as she prepared some food for her new companions. She didn't know what they would like so made a little of everything, so they could decide for themselves and she would know for future meals. She hadn't realised that someone was listening from the doorway. Her ship was the only place she ever let her guard down, she was safe there and her normal guests rarely left their allocated rooms until she had prepared food, or she had delivered them to safety. She kept forgetting that her current guests seemed very different. Nosedive leant against the doorway listening to her hum as she cooked like some sort of housewife. Her voice was pretty and reminded him of someone he knew once. He wasn't sure who. But he knew that whoever the melodious voice reminded him of was someone he knew well at one point. It felt too familiar to be otherwise. Angel turned and stopped when she saw Nosedive, going very red in the cheeks.

"Sorry," he said as he came further into the kitchen, "I didn't mean to startle you." He said taking a seat at the small table towards the left-hand side of the room.

"You didn't startle me!" Angel snapped defensively before turning to go back to what she was doing.

"Sure, I didn't." He sniggered at her. She turned and pouted at him and suddenly looked very young. Nosedive frowned, "How old are you?"

"I beg your pardon? What's it to you?!" She exclaimed incredulously.

"Just wondering is all." He shrugged trying not to make a big thing of it, but still hoping she would answer anyway. Angel glared at him for a few moments then sighed.

"Well, I'm … I'm not really sure." She blushed harder. At his alarmed look she continued, "I mean, I can't really remember. I know that I was born sometime after my planet was destroyed by the Plutarkians. After my mother died I kind of lost track of my birthdays and eventually my age." She said in a matter of fact tone Nosedive really didn't like, "I guess I would be around 16 or 17…. I think." She added looking a little embarrassed.

"So, you don't know when your birthday is?" She shook her head no. "Do you remember your mom?"

"A little." She shrugged, "Apparently my family were important people on my planet. I don't know how but I was some sort of prize to those monsters. My mother tried to protect me, but she died doing just that." Dive felt a pang of guilt. Yes, he'd lost his folks too, but he'd had a childhood before the invasion. He had come to know his parents. And his brother had always been there for him. He'd gone to school and parties. The girl in front of him had never done any of that. He wanted to know more, but it looked too painful, so he decided to change the subject.

"My mom used to sing." He said referring to her humming that he had overheard.

"What happened to her?" She asked as she served up some of the food on the small table, "If you don't mind my asking." He noticed Mookie leading Molly into the kitchen as she asked this and hesitated for a moment.

"It's okay. Uh, I don't' actually know what happened." He replied. "We were on the other side of our city when the Saurians attacked. I was with my big brother. We'd been to see a movie. We ran, and we managed to stay away from them for a couple of weeks before we were nabbed trying ta help people." He shuddered at the memories of his enslavement. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Angel placed a hand on one of his scared wrists. Areas that he would normally keep hidden by his com and wrist band.

"And that's how you got these?" She asked with an odd look on her face. He nodded in response. "Eat whatever you'd like and let me know which you prefer." She said before going to leave, "Excuse me." She said before heading deeper into the ship.

"Is she okay?" Molly asked Nosedive with her mouth full of food.

"I'm not sure Molly," He frowned, "and don't speak with your mouthful, it's gross." He scolded.

Angel entered her personal dojo and began warming up. She needed to work off some energy badly. She started off slowly as she performed kata after kata. Then she took some practice swords from the specially designed holders on the walls. They were heavier than her normal blades, much heavier. It meant that she was stronger than she needed to be and could be more precise when she used her normal blades. The intensity of her work out grew and grew until her muscles burned with exertion. With one final complicated move that would have resulted in the death of anyone on the receiving end, she collapsed onto her back. Breathing heavily, she looked back at the door when someone knocked on it.

"Um, Angel." Mookie called through the door, "Are you okay?" Angel got up and replaced the practice blades before opening the door.

"I'm okay." She smiled.

"Are you sure?" Mookie asked with a frown on her face.

"Sure, I'm sure." Angel looked up at the sound of her alert system.

"You don't look fine." Mookie frowned. "You look kind of freaked out."

"Why are you so interested in my feelings?" Angel deadpanned.

"You're helping us! That's a super cool thing to do for anyone." Mookie shrugged, "But you don't seem to have anyone to talk to and that's not so cool. So, while we're here you may as well take advantage, right?" The purple haired human grinned at her. Angel stared at the woman in shock but didn't continue to try and put Mookie off. "So, what has Dive having those scars got you so freaked out about?" Mookie asked as she sat down cross legged just inside the door. Angel frowned for a moment.

"You know," She raised a brow and looked straight past Mookie, "It's rude to eavesdrop." Nosedive and Molly popped their heads around the door, looking sheepish.

"You heard us, huh?" Dive asked with an apologetic smile. Angel shook her head at them and was shocked when Molly ran over and hugged her. Angel awkwardly patted the child's back.

"Why are you so worried about me?" She asked, "You guys barely know me. No one else has ever cared before."

"Well they were clearly insensitive jerks!" Mookie snorted. Nosedive leant against the doorframe.

"You know you're kinda young to be on your own." Nosedive pointed out, "I mean, even I've got my brother back on Earth. But the only one you've got here seems to be that cat of yours. Do you have any family?"

"None that I know of?" Angel admitted but didn't elaborate.

"So, there's gotta be a story behind you, right?" He asked expectantly, "I told you some of mine." He pointed out. Angel sighed and rubbed the back of her neck.

"It's not something I ever talk about." Angel told them, "It's my business and you don't need to know."

"Yeah well, we may not need to know," Mookie crossed her arms, "but I'll bet it's something you should tell someone about."

"Okay, Mookie," Dive placed a hand on his friend's shoulder as Molly came back to his side, looking upset, "We can't force Angel to tell us her life story." He looked at their saviour, unsure whether to be sad for her or angry at her.

"Fine." Mookie snapped, "Come on Molly, it's late. Let's get you to bed." Molly looked between the adults in the room and, with a wave, she left the room with Mookie at her heels.

"Listen," Angel turned her back to Nosedive, "you don't owe me anything. Least of all an apology. The minute I get you home you'll forget all about me. Just like everyone else does." She told him and gasped when he spun her round to give her an angry glare.

"We are not like those losers!" He declared to her. "When we get to Earth, you've got a place to stay. I know my big bro would say the same. And it means you can take a break from all this… this fighting!" He paused for a second, "If you want that is."

"I don't know, maybe." Angel looked away from him, earning a shake of Nosedive's head. "I'm going to bed." She told him and walked out of the room.

"Night, Angel." Nosedive called after her. He held up his right wrist and brushed the scars on it with his left hand. He clenched his fists as he tried to push away some unwanted memories. With a sigh he left the room to make his way to his own bunk.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21:**

Angel allowed a small smile as she watched her new companions walk ahead of her. Nosedive and Mookie held Molly's hands and were swinging her back and forth. The young human squealed in delight. She had made sure to stop at a safe planet where she could buy the trio some new clothes and pick up a few more parts she wanted for the ship. Once they were fully stocked, they would make their way back to Earth. She had chosen this particular planet because she knew the area she had brought them to, had many stores and attractions for travellers with children. Molly pointed to a store window and rushed over to it with Mookie in tow as Nosedive held back to walk beside her.

"You didn't have to do all this you know." Dive told her as he looked at her out of the corner of his eyes holding a few bags over his shoulder.

"Buy you guys some clothes?" She laughed. "You need more than one set of clothes!" She declared.

"Yeah but you didn't have to bring us to a place like this." He smirked at the small blush that crossed her cheeks.

"I thought it would take her mind off her mom." Angel shrugged.

"You like kids, huh?" Dive asked her.

"No, they make a lot of noise and they often smell and…" Angel listed off stubbornly.

"Liar." Dive called her out with a laugh.

"What's it like?" Angel asked as they followed Molly and Mookie who were running from store front to store front. "To have a brother, I mean?" Dive studied her face curiously. He saw a pleading look there as well as the curiosity that obviously led to the question.

"Oh, um." Nosedive had to think for a moment, wanting to sort out his thoughts first, "Well, I'm not sure it's what it's like for all siblings but my brother is… Um. Well he's always been there. No matter what happened. When our dad died, he stepped up and looked out for me and mom. When the saurians attacked and we didn't know where mom was he protected me." He clenched his fists, "The things he did to protect me were… well…I mean, I wish I could have done something to stop it. There were others who did the same for their families. Some survived like Wing. But just as many…"

"They died?" Angel guessed sadly.

"Yeah." Dive hadn't realised his breathing had quickened as his mind flashed back to a memory he'd rather forget. Angel's eyes went wide as she realised what was happening. She'd seen enough people have flash backs in her life.

"Tell me what you see Nosedive." She said quietly as she steered him from the crowds whilst keeping one eye on the whereabouts of Mookie and Molly.

"He's dead." Dive whimpered as if in a trance, sounding much younger than he looked. Tears appeared at the corners of his eyes.

"Who's dead Nosedive?" Angel asked.

"A friend. He was in Wildwing's class." Dive replied. Angel sat him down on a nearby bench and took his hand, wishing Moogie were with her to help. The animal was psychic, and it made dealing with such issues much easier. He had certainly helped her over the years.

"What happened to him?" She asked him.

"He was trying to protect his mother. So, they took him instead." The tears were streaming down his cheeks now as he relived the memory, "the screams kept us up all night. The next day he walked past us like a zombie. By the evening he'd killed himself. It was me that found him."

"Was anyone with you?" Angel asked taking his hand with her right and rubbing his shoulder with her left.

"My… my brother." He answered.

"But he's okay right?" She urged him on.

"Yes, but it could have been him." Nosedive's breathing became erratic as his imagination took hold of the memory and twisted it into more of a nightmare than it already was. In his mind's eye, it was Wildwing lying there in a pool of his own blood. Lifeless eyes staring off into space, never to show the warmth and love that was always there to protect him. "It could have been him!" Dive cried, "He used to do what Corey did! He used to let them take him instead of taking me! He could have died cause of me!" Angel could feel as his psyche went into a panic. The left hand rubbing his shoulder gently wrapped around the back of his neck and pulled him forward so that their foreheads were touching. The markings on her face glowed slightly as she focused her mind to merge with his.

"Wildwing!" Nosedive fell to his knees as he called after his brother who seemed to be a silhouette in the distance. The wind whipped his hair around and he could hardly catch his breath. Then, behind him, he heard a voice.

"Nosedive!" He turned to see Angel approaching him she looked like a ghost with her skin paler than normal and the markings on her face glowing. "It's all just a dream. Your brother is fine, and I will take you home to him, but you have to wake up!" Nosedive gasped and was suddenly back in the alien market place.

"I'm sorry!" Dive clenched his fists over and over as he calmed his breathing, "I haven't done that in a long time."

"It's okay. It's pretty normal for people to have flashbacks after traumatic events." She said to him kindly ash she rubbed his back.

"But it's been years since all that happened." Dive protested. "I shouldn't still be getting them, right?!"

"I still have night terrors on occasion." She assured him.

"So, I've been wondering, how did you become a pirate?" Dive changed the subject.

"Well I've only really been a pirate for a few years." She said, "I tried to find more of my people first." She leant back against the bench and looked up to the stars, "Found this really old guy on some desolate planet. He'd been marooned on it when his ship had run out of fuel as he escaped from Azmaria. Turned out he was an old master. I badgered him into teaching me everything he knew in exchange for a lift to civilisation. He eventually became a council member of the GA." She noticed that Dive was trying to remember what the GA stood for, "The Galactic Alliance. Several planets coming together for mutual protection with a combined police and military force. They're gradually expanding in a hope to minimise more damage caused by Plutarkian invasions. Not to mention any future races that may choose to attempt to oppress other planets."

"Sounds like a good idea." Dive leant forward and looked at his feet. He looked up again when he saw Molly's small feet appear in front of him.

"I'm hungry." She told him, "Can we go get something to eat from the ship?"

"Here." Angel said handing the girl a credit chip, "That place is meant to be good," she pointed to an open-air restaurant just off to their right, "Go get something from there. I need something from a store a few blocks away, so I'll come find you when I'm done. There should be enough on there to pick up whatever you guys want from the local shops too."

"You're going alone?" Dive asked.

"Sure, I'm not really hungry." She waved him off.

"Okay." Mookie looked at Nosedive curiously then back at Angel. Angel jogged off into the crowds and Mookie turned back to him, "So what were you two up to?" She asked with a teasing tone.

"We were talking about our pasts and I kind of had a nasty flash back." Dive admitted.

"Oh man!" Mookie placed a hand on her shoulder, "I don't think I've seen you have one of those for a couple of years!"

"I thought I was over them." Dive snorted, "Guess not though, huh?"

"Hey, you're not so good when you're away from your brother for extended periods." Mookie pointed out, "Maybe they're back cause of that?"

"Maybe." He sighed then looked at Molly, "Come on Molly, let's get you some food."

"Are you okay Nosedive?" Molly asked as she took his hand.

"Course I am!" he grinned, "I'm Nosedive! I gotta be okay to keep you safe, right?!" He winked, and Molly smiled back at him. Mookie sighed at his antics to cheer the girl up and looked back in the direction that Angel had left.

"Angel!" A hound known as buster said as she entered the back-street store. "What brings you here?!"

"I'm trying to connect this to my computer in order to contact a similar device on Earth." She told him.

"Earth?!" He laughed, "Taking in strays again?"

"Can you help me or not?" She rolled her eyes at the hound. Buster held out his paw and waited for her to pass him Nosedive's comm unit. He studied it for some time and considered things for a moment.

"You're going to need an elyon patch to get this to first; connect to your onboard tech properly, then you'll need a synovian mother board to give your systems a big enough boost to transmit that far."

"Well my on-board computer already has the synovian mother board." She smirked at his annoyed look, "Sorry to disappoint you. But, you got an elyon patch?"

"How much is it worth to you?" Buster leant forward with his best smile.

"Enough to not beat your ass, provided you don't try to rip me off mutt." She smiled back at him sweetly. The hound growled and leant back again.

"One thousand Yaja jewels." He said confidently.

"Really?" Angel raised a brow. "I'll give you five hundred."

"£900." He countered.

"£500." Angel repeated.

"£800, final offer or no sale." Buster growled.

"£500, or I just take it from you." Angel said as she reached for one of her blades. "And I know you don't want me searching for it, now do you."

"Deal." Buster sighed and held out his paw. Angel took the offered paw and shook. Then she pressed a button on her wrist band and a flash of light revealed a pile of jewels.

"Pleasure doing business with you buster." Angel smiled at him again.

"Yeah, yeah." Buster grumbled and tossed the patch to her, "One of these days…"

"One of these days, you'll go legit and make a decent living without selling stolen goods." She winked as she left the store with a chuckle.

She made her way to her ship and quickly installed the patch to before connecting it to the comm unit. Angel transmitted the signal and;

"Nosedive?" A desperate sounding voice answered the line. She frowned when she realised she still wasn't getting a video image.

"No, this is Angel." She replied as she fiddled with the settings to try and bring the image up.

"Where's my brother? This is his comm!" Wildwing snapped.

"You have to be Wildwing." She smirked then let out a small cheer as an image flickered onto her screen. "Much better." She added. On the screen was a white feathered, frustrated looking Wildwing. Angel raised a brow at the state of Nosedive's brother, it was clear he had been beaten recently, and badly.

"You didn't answer my question," Wildwing scowled at her. "Angel, was it?

"He's with Molly and Mookie, getting dinner." She told him as she put her tools away.

"So, they're safe?" He said with relief.

"And sound, yes." She replied.

"Wait, so why are you calling if they're not with you right now?" Wildwing asked.

"Because I didn't want to get their hopes up until I knew this would work." Angel admitted. Wildwing studied her carefully now he could see her.

"How do I know I can trust you with them?" He demanded.

"No offense," Angel laughed, "But you don't really have a lot of options in that regard." Angel smirked at him.

"What's that supposed to mean." Wing demanded.

"It means, you're nearly three galaxies away from our current position." She pointed out, "From what I understand, your only aerial mode of transport, isn't designed for deep space travel and even if it was capable it doesn't sound like you would ever get here before we all died of old age." Wildwing continued to scowl at the teen and Angel groaned, "Listen, I am bringing them home. But three galaxies away takes a lot of fuel and I'm going to need to make a few pit stops to ensure we have enough to get us all there and me back to the nearest fuelling port."

"Why are you helping us? What do you want?" Wildwing asked suspiciously.

"Oh, you are definitely related to blondie." Angel muttered earning an irritated look. "Like I said to your brother. It's what I do." She explained.

"That's not really an explanation." Wildwing grumbled.

"Yeah well, that's all you're gonna get." Angel snapped, "Listen, they should be finishing up by now. Now I know this works, I'll be sure to let them call you guys a little later. Just be sure to be around okay?" She looked away as if a little embarrassed for some reason, "Make sure Molly's mom is there too."

"Hey, wait I…" Wildwing started but she ended the call. Angel got up from where she had been sitting and left to find the others.

On Earth, Wildwing frowned at the now blank screen. _"Did she call my little brother, blondie?"_ He asked himself. He shook his head and left to find his team and Jessica to tell them what had happened and that they should stick around in case they call back soon.

"Angel!" Molly called as she shovelled a sweet that was similar to Earth's ice cream into her mouth. "This is really nice!" Molly declared.

"It is good." Mookie agreed as she ate her own portion.

"Have you eaten anything since breakfast?" Nosedive studied Angel carefully.

"I've snacked." She shrugged back. "When you guys are done, we should pick up some more clothes and go back to the ship. We'll spend another day or two here before we make a start." She explained to them.

"Angel?" Molly said as she jumped off her seat and walked over to her. "I saw something I'd like. But I…"

"Show me." Angel told her. Molly beamed and led Angel away from the restaurant. Dive and Mookie had already paid anyway so they trotted after them. They watched as Molly blushed and pointed to some cuddly toys shaped like colourful dog like creatures. Angel spoke to the vendor and appeared to barter before the vendor passed two of the toys to a very happy looking Molly.

"Thank you!" She squealed and hugged her new toys.

"You're welcome." Angel replied. She seemed distracted though and Nosedive scanned the crowds to see if he could spot anything off. He didn't notice anything obvious, so he was surprised when Angel suddenly threw an older man to the ground.

"You know, it's not a good idea to pick the pocket of a pirate." She scowled at the older man. The man seemed to wheeze then he moved quicker than anyone could have suspected and nearly grabbed Molly, but Angel was quicker. She moved like lightening and with a spin and a grunt, Molly was in the air and soon landing in Nosedive's arms. The attack finished with a blade at the man's throat. Dive could see that the alien man had loose skin that was a pale blue. His eyes were an eerie white and his teeth yellow. Passers by hurried past, trying to ignore the altercation.

"Amayan." He spat at her. "I know you!" Dive watched Angel and the attacker warily. Angel narrowed her eyes at him. "I would be paid handsomely for you." He sounded a little mad when he said this, and a small laugh followed the statement.

"You think you could take me?" Angel asked coldly.

"Don't know till I try." He laughed. "Got nothing to lose!"

"Don't throw your life away." Angel growled and shoved him away from them.

"What life is this?" He cocked his head at her, "No money. No family. Nothing! I have nothing!"

"You have your life." Angel told him before turning to leave. Nosedive was placing Molly onto her feet when he spotted a small pipe being aimed at Angel's back. The blue alien placed something into the pipe and brought it to his mouth. He moved without realising and heard himself call out a warning as he pushed a surprised Angel out of the way. Something pierced his skin and for a few short moments he thought the sensation had just been his imagination. Then he screamed out in pain as his veins began to burn. He fell to the ground and clawed at the wound in his arm, desperate to remove whatever had hit him there. He knew nothing else at that moment. Just that he wanted to stop the pain.

"Nosedive!" Mookie yelled running over to him with Molly. They tried to stop him from clawing at his arm, but Molly was knocked back and as Molly began wailing, Mookie resorted to throwing her entire body onto the screaming duck to try and stop him from hurting himself. She glanced up to see Angel with her blade at the old alien's throat again.

"Antidote, now!" She growled at him dangerously.

"Why would I need that." He chuckled, "I didn't get poisoned!" Angel's eyes narrowed, and she kneed the alien hard in the gut before turning to Nosedive. "Moogie!" She called. Mookie looked around in confusion, sure that they had left the pet on the ship. Said pet trotted over and with a flash of blue flames he was suddenly the size of a small pony. Mookie stepped away from the animal in shock and reached out to pull Molly close to her as Moogie placed a large paw on Nosedive's chest. His eyes glowed and after a few moments Nosedive's screams stopped and Angel dragged Nosedive onto Moogie's back.

"Let's go!" She said to Mookie and Molly. Mookie rushed after Angel and her now large psion. Passers-by gawped at them as they passed but still stayed clear. Anyone who did come too close got a warning look from Angel which seemed enough to scare them off.

"What's wrong with him?" Molly asked once they were in the ship and Mookie was helping Angel transfer Nosedive from Moogie's back to the cot in the med bay.

"He's been pumped full of something." Angel stated the obvious whilst activating the medi unit. "I just have to figure out what with and the unit can synthe an antidote." Angel typed at the keyboard as the unit scanned Nosedive's prone form. It took the computer a couple of minutes to stabilise him and ascertain what the poison in his system was. It would take at least thirty to forty minutes for the med unit to synthesise an antidote.

"Will he be okay?" Mookie asked.

"In a few days, he will." Angel sighed and got up. She picked up a device and pointed it at Mookie and then Molly.

"What are you doing?" Molly asked.

"Getting your measurements." Angel replied and turned the device on Nosedive, "The med unit will take a bit of time to create the antidote and administer it. I doubt he'll wake up till tomorrow even after it's administered. So, I want you two to stay here whilst I go pick up those extra clothes for you."

"Molly!" Jessica called over the line as soon as her daughters image flickered onto the screen of Drake One.

"Mom!" Molly replied with a beaming smile, then added quickly, "You're okay! Those stinky saurians said they'd got you and Wildwing. I was so scared! They sent us to this scary lab place, but then we escaped and then we were somewhere else and, then there was a scary cat guy and his scary fish friend. Then…."

"Easy Molly." Mookie placed her hand on Molly's head, "Slow down or they'll never understand you."

"Are you okay baby?" Jessica asked her daughter.

"I'm okay mom." Molly replied.

"Where's Nosedive?" Wildwing asked from Jessica's side, "I thought that Angel girl said he would be here too."

"He got hurt." Mookie said a little apprehensively.

"What?!" Wildwing exclaimed.

"We were out and there was this crazy dude." Mookie explained, "Angel dealt with it but then he pulled out this blow gun thing. Dive jumped in the way and now he's sick." Mookie hugged herself and rubbed her arms.

"Will he be okay?" Wildwing sounded on the verge of panic and Mookie watched as Jessica took his hand, which calmed him a little.

"He'll be fine." Angel replied as she entered the room.

"You!" Wildwing snapped pointing an accusatory finger at her. Angel looked back at him less than impressed, "You said they were all safe!"

"They were all safe." Angel shrugged, "Still are. But when I spoke to you earlier, that nut job hadn't attacked us. So, your brother hadn't been poisoned at that point."

"But he'll be okay? Right?" Jessica asked as she squeezed Wildwing's hand.

"He'll probably be out for a few days," Angel informed them, "But he'll be fine with some rest. This ship is equipped with some pretty advanced medical tech." Angel studied Nosedive's older brother for a few moments. He appeared agitated and, from the reaction of the woman beside him, this was out of character for him. She knew the pair were close from the way Nosedive was so desperate to get word to his friends and his reaction when he knew that they had found Wildwing. She felt a pang of jealousy for what they had, something she had longed for her entire life but quickly shook it off. She walked forward and typed in a few commands. This allowed an image of the security feed from the med bay to show Nosedive sleeping peacefully on one of the cots in the room. He was a little pale, but otherwise looked fine and merely asleep. "I've promised to take them home and that's what I'll do." She turned to Mookie, "You remember how to disconnect the feed?"

"Yeah." Mookie replied.

"Excuse me then." Angel bowed slightly to those on the screen, then left.

"She seems…." Jessica tried to find the right words.

"She's really nice mom." Molly assured. "She can be really scary if you're a bad guy but she's really nice to the good people. She bought me some cuddly toys today."

"What exactly do you know about this girl?" Canard asked Mookie.

"Well, her name is Angel." Mookie started, "She's fights the bad guys and helps people in need," Mookie paused to consider her words, "It's just her and her alien cat. She doesn't have anyone else here."

"She looks kid of young ta be on her own." Duke observed, "Where's her family?"

"Dead." Mookie informed them sadly.

"Mom?"

"Yes baby?" Jessica placed her hand on the screen, wanting desperately to hold her daughter.

"Since Angel doesn't have a family," Molly started, "can we be her family when we get home?" Jessica blinked in shock at her daughter's question. "She's all alone except for her pet." Molly told them, "She pretends she's okay, but she always looks so sad. So Please can she stay with us when she brings us back to Earth?" Jessica looked at Wildwing, lost for words.

"Well, I guess that depends on Angel, princess." Wildwing told her, "She may not want to stay here."

"She will." Molly said with such surety it made Jessica smile. It was then that Molly yawned.

"You look tired baby." Jessica stated, "Maybe it's time for you to go to bed. I want daily calls though." She addressed Mookie, "You miss one and I will not be happy."

"Yes ma'am." Mookie mock saluted.

"I love you mom." Molly said as she hoped down from the seat she was sitting on and blew a kiss. "Love you too Wildwing." Jessica and Wildwing smiled at her.

"Love you too princess." Wildwing said as he wrapped his arm around Jessica's shoulders and squeezed.

"Stay safe Molly." Jessica told her daughter.

"I will mom." Molly assured.

"Bye guys." Mookie waved before disconnecting the feed and looking down at the small blonde child. "Lets get you to bed Molly."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22:**

"So, you've found them?" Cleghorn asked as he surveyed the rec room occupants at the pond. "But they're in another galaxy?"

"That about sums it up." Canard replied.

"Oh, I have another headache." Cleghorn rubbed his temples. "Hopefully this new friend of the kid's will be able to bring them all home. In the meantime, I've been informed that the FEDs have discovered that Phineas Viper has something to do with the facility you guys were held captive in." The police captain addressed Wildwing and Jessica. "It's a very small off shoot of his main business empire, but they're hoping we can get evidence that he was one of the master minds behind this. Then we can finally put that sleaze behind bars."

"And the saurians?" Wilding asked.

"The whole country is on the lookout for any sightings." Cleghorn told them, "Every precinct in every city of America are under orders to bring them in if they can."

"No offense captain, but I don't think your regular cops will be equipped to handle the saurians." Mallory pointed out.

"Not to mention that swordsman that's working with them." Duke said from his place on the sofa unconsciously moving to hold his stump.

"Their actions have escalated and there's public panic." Cleghorn shrugged, "We've gotta be seen to be doing something." He sighed, "Listen, you may be able to take care of yourselves normally, but you're two members down and a third incapacitated. You've had your base infiltrated. For whatever reason, the public want you guys protected. And that General father in law of yours," he indicated to Jessica, "is pretty adamant that you in particular have a personal guard."

"Wildwing can protect me just fine." Jess leaned into said duck with a scowl at the mention of Lionel.

"Yeah well, he didn't do too well the other night." Cleghorn pointed out unkindly, Wildwing looked away as a wave of shame washed over him, "And your kid might be safe but I'm not going to consider her or any of the other missing from your circle officially found till they're back on Earth and I can see them for myself. Which is a point." He took a breath before carrying on, "Keep the fact that you're in contact with em to yourselves. I'm guessing since you're all still here, you can't go get em yourselves. And since the enemy have sent them there, I'm willing to bet that they'll have the ability to go after them if they know they're alive."

"Guys," Alex popped his head around the corner, "If we don't go now we'll be late."

"Okay, thanks." Wildwing nodded, "Are you coming to the funeral Captain?"

"I'll be there." He assured them, "I'll have a team there to make sure everything goes smoothly too."

"Thank you, Captain." Wildwing said solemnly. He looked to the others, "Let's go."

Nosedive stared out one of the windows at the stars. They had finally begun their journey back to Earth and he was recovered from whatever the blue alien had pumped into his system. He'd spoken to his brother and, other than some nasty bruises Wildwing was okay and so was Jessica. When he had been told Phil had died, he hadn't been sure what to think. Yes, the portly man had been a pain in the ass, but he hadn't wanted him to die.

"You okay?" He jumped at Angel's question, almost forgetting that the pilot was positioned behind him. Moogie mewed and jumped on his shoulder. Nosedive absent mindedly scratched the small creature behind the ear.

"Yeah." He replied, not even convincing himself.

"Hey, I'll get you all home safe." She smiled at him, but he never even glanced her way. There was a pregnant pause between them for several minutes.

"I'm not much of a fighter." He started, "But I wanna be." He looked back at Angel. "What if I screw this up and get one of them killed?" He indicated behind him as if Mookie and Molly were in the room when in fact they were further in the ship watching some movies that Angel had managed to stream from Earth. He had made a mental note to ensure he introduced him to Buzz when they got home. Dive was sure the younger human would kill to get even a glance of the advanced ship he was travelling on.

"Why would you screw it up?" Angel asked raising a brow.

"I told you! I'm not the best fighter." He reiterated, "I'm a good shot, but the rest is just luck. So, what if my luck runs out and one of the girls pay for it. What if it's Molly! What would I tell my bro and Jess?!" He couldn't read Angel's look, so he turned away inwardly cursing himself for his admittance. A hand was placed on the shoulder that didn't have Moogie sat on it.

"Come with me." Angel said simply. Her hand slipped down his arm to take his hand and she gently led him through the ship to the mid-level room that held her dojo. Before she entered, she punched in a few commands to a key pad and waited a moment before the pad beeped. She then pushed one more button and the door opened with a swish. Nosedive followed her inside. Angel turned to face him. "Hit me." Dive raised his brows.

"What?!"

"I said hit me." She repeated with a smirk.

"I am not going to hit you!" He told her in an almost panicked voice and he was immediately laughed at. "What?!" He demanded with a slight whine to his voice.

"I doubt you'll even come close." She chuckled, "But I wanna see what you can do. And we start with you trying to hit me."

"Okay." Nosedive said still unsure. He clenched his right fist and looked at it before looking back at her. With a deep breath he lunged forward and aimed a punch at her. She dodged it as if he was trying to hit her in slow motion. She looked at him expectantly, so he tried again. Angel spun, ducked under his outstretched arm and hooked her foot around his weight bearing ankle. With a quick move, his leg was swept out from under him and his beak hit the mats. "Well that was embarrassing." He grumbled.

"The fact that I tripped you," She crouched down beside him with a wicked grin and winked at him, "or the fact that you got beat by a girl?"

"I wanna say… both." He replied dragging out the word 'say'. He pulled himself up to his knees and sighed, "This is not helping my confidence you know."

"It wasn't supposed to." She admitted and moved to explain at his questioning look, "Listen, I want to help you get back to help your brother and team. But I'm guessing you're not going to want to wait here on the ship whilst I do my thing all the time. And I'm going to need to take on a few jobs to make sure I've got enough to get this ship all the way to Earth without running out of fuel or supplies. Even if I tell you to stay put, I doubt you would."

"Not a chance." Dive snorted.

"Exactly, so I've gotta be sure that you can take care of yourself." She shrugged, "I go up against some pretty scary odds sometimes and I can't do that if I'm looking over my shoulder to make sure you're okay." She admitted, "Besides, I owe you one." She winked.

"Thanks." He snorted with a shake of his head. "And you don't owe me anything."

"Anyway, I'll train you if you want." She offered ignoring the last comment.

"In martial arts?"

"Well yeah." Angel picked up Moogie who had spent his time watching from the side lines. "I mean, you aren't a complete lost cause. Those punches had some power to them and if it had been anyone less trained, you might have connected."

"Might?!" He snorted, offended.

"Don't get precious." She scolded, "With some control and a little technique you'd be a lot more use to me. So, you up for it?" Nosedive looked at her for a moment. She didn't seem to be making fun of him. And while the jibes about him connecting and being precious did sting a little, she didn't seem to be saying them specifically to upset him.

"All right." He got up and brushed off his jeans. A thought suddenly occurred to him, "Um, Angel?"

"Yeah?"

"How is this room so big?" He asked thoroughly confused. He was sure there wasn't enough room for the space they were in from the outside. "It's a Dr. Who thing right?" He added with a smirk.

" ? Ugh never mind!" Angel made a face, "It's a sub space room." She explained, "There's a sub space field around this room that allows me to create a room that is as small or as big as I want. I am often in space for long periods of time, so I need somewhere to train. This gives me that space. Without needing a bigger ship."

"Cool." He replied, genuinely impressed.

"So, shall we start at the beginning?" She asked. Nosedive took a moment to figure out what she was talking about. He got to his feet and bowed to her like he'd seen in the movies. Angel then sat down in the lotus position and he blinked at her.

"Seriously?" He groaned, "Even Mallory didn't start with meditation!"

"Being aware of your body and the energies around you is the first step to becoming a real warrior." Angel stated. "Now stop whining like a child and let's get started."

Later that evening, Angel frowned at the pictures and information that had been transmitted to her. A friend of hers from the Galactic Alliance had taken it upon herself to send her information about something the Plutarkians were up to. Something that the Galactic Alliance, otherwise known as the GA, were powerless to prevent. Any action they took in official Plutarkian territories could result in the Plutarkians waging war on the GA. Currently the GA didn't have the necessary might to face the Plutarkians head on. However, many of their members and in fact many of the citizens living on the planet that housed their HQ, Falsus 4, were refugees from Plutarkian invasions of various planets. From Martians to Amayans and many more, including refugees from planets who supported the Plutarkians had fled to Falsus 4 to escape the persecution they were met with for their views. The whole planet had been terraformed specifically for that purpose and was still being developed to ensure the entire planet could house life. The council wanted to see an end to the Plutarkian menace once and for all, but they needed to be smart about it. So, they would send people like Angel coded messages with information about things they felt needed dealing with, this would ensure that it wasn't obvious that the GA was involved. When she had seen the alert on her computer, she considered simply rejecting it. But she opened it out of curiosity. The files informed her that there was evidence of the Plutarkians having a new ally and were working on something that could increase the Plutarkians' might exponentially. Still she considered simply replying and telling them that she couldn't take up the job right now. She had to get Molly and the others home after all. But then she had opened the file with security images and had nearly spat out the drink she had been sipping. There on the screen were a handful of humans mingled among the other slaves, but also another duck! This one was female, with blonde hair and glasses. The woman looked haunted and knowing how Plutarkian guards treated any slave that had hit puberty or beyond, she didn't doubt the duck had been treated in such a way as to ensure that her spirit was beaten down to the point where the poor woman had no more fight left in her.

"Tanya?" Nosedive uttered as he entered the room and spotted the image on the screen of his missing teammate. "That's Tanya!" Nosedive exclaimed again as he pointed to his teammate's image.

"A friend of yours then?" Angel asked him. "Figured as much."

"She was kidnapped by a crazy guy with white hair and a sword." Dive told her, "He was with the saurians and he … he sliced off Duke's sword arm for good measure. He nearly died." Nosedive took a steadying breath, not wanting to get emotional in front of Angel.

"Your teammates are very important to you, aren't they?" Angel more stated than asked, her look unreadable, "Almost as much as Wildwing and Molly's mom."

"Duke's been like a dad to me and Wing since we got stranded on Earth," Nosedive explained, "and the others are like family now. Even Canard, who's like the annoying cousin who likes to pick on you. All the time." Dive almost grumbled the last part and Angel chuckled, "Where is that?" He moved closer to the monitor to take in the image better.

"That, I am not sure." Angel admitted, "This information was sent to me from the GA."

"That big police force you keep mentioning?" Dive asked.

"Uh, huh." Angel nodded, "They want me to look into this and put a stop to whatever they're doing. I was going to tell them to ask someone else, so I could get you guys back to Earth."

"We have to save Tauny!" Dive clenched his fists. "She's not the best fighter. I've been a slave. I know what it's like, but she was never captured and never had to go through that hell. She's not strong, she's just a scientist who had to step up to help her people." Dive moved closer to the screen, "She looks so scared."

"I guess we had better find her then." Angel said with finality.

"But if you don't know where…"

"I have an idea where to start." Angel typed a few commands into the computer and brought up an image of a planet and then a grey building that looked like some sort of military facility. "I heard there was going to be a party there soon. Shouldn't be too hard for me to slip in and I may be able to get some kind of clue as to where to find your friend. But…who's going to break the news to Molly, that she won't be home quite so quickly?"

"Oh man, Uh, me!" Nosedive even raised his hand, "That way you can tell my bro and Jess!" He gave her his most winning smile.

"What?!" Angel glared at him, but Nosedive was already rushing off to find Molly and Mookie, "Real mature Nosedive!" She yelled after him before taking a deep breath and typing in the commands to contact the mighty ducks on Earth and tell them the good and bad news.

"How do I look?" Angel asked spinning a little and doing her best cute pose. She wore a long white wig that hung in ringlets down her back. She had blue contacts on to disguise her usual eye colour and wore a revealing maid outfit, with stockings, suspenders and heels. Her research had shown that it matched the ones the female slaves had to wear to serve the guests in the facility she was about to sneak into. She hadn't been happy, but it also hadn't been hard to find a replica. She really hoped she didn't bump into whoever decided on the design.

"Um, please tell me you're wearing panties!" Nosedive shook his head barely hiding his amusement.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Angel smirked receiving a dramatic eye roll in return.

"You sure you don't want me to sneak in with you or something?" Nosedive chose to change the subject.

"You're too conspicuous." Angel pointed out. "This place has several Amayan slaves but unless we get lucky and find your friend Tanya here, I'm pretty sure they'd notice an alien like you suddenly appearing within their work force."

"I could though!" Mookie piped up.

"Not happening." Angel declared, "It's too dangerous and you aren't a fighter."

"Well that sucks!" Mookie snapped and stormed off.

"So, we get to sit here and twiddle our thumbs, huh?" He said with a pout once Mookie was out of sight.

"Relax blondie," Angel chuckled moving too close to him for comfort, which caused him to blush under his feathers, "I won't be long. Just going to see if I can get any information about where the lab is from the Plutarkian big wigs in there." She pulled away, "Even some of the slaves might have over heard something. So, it's worth the risk."

"Just be careful, okay?" Nosedive gave her a pleading look.

"Relax," Angel smirked, "I'm a pro! Remember." She added with a wink before disappearing out the door.

"Even pros slip up." Nosedive grumbled to the empty doorway. He looked down at Moogie when he heard the psion mewl at him. Reaching down, he picked up the small animal and held him against his chest whilst scratching behind its ears, "I guess we'd better find something to do." He said before deciding to head to the training room to work on his moves.

Angel slipped quietly through the forest that surrounded the building that was her target. She slowed her pace as she neared the security fence. The fence was tall but simple. The planet that the facility was built on was barely inhabited and the Plutarkians had met with very little resistance. As a result, most facilities on the planet had relatively poor security, of course the lack of funding and assistance from their home planet only exacerbated this issue.

She melted into the shadows as two guards wandered past where she had been stood not a moment before. Once she was sure they were out of sight and hearing range, she studied the fence again. Angel then looked back at a tree that was slightly closer to the fence than the others. With a couple of leaps, she had first climbed into the tree then vaulted over the fence. She landed silently and slipped towards the building where she was met with a security panel. Angel pulled out a small device that she placed over the panel. With a press of a button the door clicked open and she was able to quietly make her way inside. Angel put away the first device then pulled out another that showed her a schematic of the facility. It was relatively easy to slip past the guards within the facility, they clearly were not the brightest of Plutarkians and it didn't take long to find her way to where the party she was trying to crash was. Slipping into a busy room full of mostly Plutarkians but also aliens such as Catatonians and Piraks, Anel got to work on trying to over hear some much-needed information.

"You!" Angel turned to see who was being addressed and realised it was her. A particularly large and pungent Plutarkian approached her, "What are you doing? You should be handing out drinks slave!" He snapped at her then grabbed her by the hair. Angel had to bite the inside of her lip to remind herself that she had to act like one of their slaves and not beat this stink fish to a bloody pulp as she was very inclined to do. She was also very glad that the glue she'd used for her wig was as good as it was. When they arrived at a bar, he roughly pushed her towards it and then left.

"You must be one of the newcomers." A catantonian man behind the bar said, he had a brand on his arm that showed he was a slave as well, "Here." He handed her a tray, "Make sure, no one's glass goes dry and whatever you do, do not spill anything on the guests. Pretty slave like you might get the chance to be moved to easier work if you play your cards right." Angel bowed to him as one of her brethren would have done if not trained as a warrior, then took the tray without saying a word. She knew what he was referring to and repressed a shudder. The task she had been given was in fact perfect. It meant she could get near any of the guests at the party without raising any suspicion.

"So, what's this I hear about a new race of aliens that your high council are meant to be working with?" Angel wasn't sure who had asked the question, so she made sure to stay in the area handing out one of the many glasses on the large tray she held. She avoided eye contact with the other slaves serving who were giving her curious looks.

"A lizard like creature." A Plutarkian with a nasally voice replied, "Word has it, the lizard has an army hidden away in another dimension or something and is willing to take over worlds on our behalf then simply allow us to take their resources once he moves on to another planet."

"Since when did your techs create interdimensional teleporters?" A Catatonian female with a gravelly voice asked.

"We haven't yet, but this creature did previously and has assisted with the advancement of our own teleportation technology in order to bring his army to this dimension." The Plutarkian replied.

"What I want to know," A high pitched Plutarkian female butted in, "is how we can trust this Draganus creature. How do we know he won't simply turn on us once he has his army?"

"I supposed the high council will have a contingency plan in place." The nasally Plutarkian said in an off handed manner.

"I hear," The high pitched Plutarkian started in an excited manner, "that they have one of the enemies of the lizard, helping make the technology."

"Really?" The Nasally Plutarkian asked with a laugh, "That must be positively excruciating for the poor creature." His companions laughed with him. Angel was nearly out of glasses.

"Did you hear, that they've caught most of those mice that were causeing so many problems for Camembert on Mars, then Limburger on Earth?" The Catatonian asked. Angel resisted the urge to growl and moved back to the bar to fill up her tray again. She did this a total of 9 times and the only other information she managed to garner was that the one helping develop the new tech, was being held on Vlark which was one of the stolen planets currently orbiting Plutark. She managed to slip out of a side door and ditch the tray before making her way towards the nearest exit again.

"You there!" She froze and turned to see who was addressing her.

"Why are you not attending our guests?" A particularly fat and ugly Plutarkian asked as he approached her.

"Apologies sir." She bowed submissively as she held her stomach. "I was feeling unwell and felt it best to leave for the rest room before I made a fool of you." She bowed lower hoping this Plutarkian was not an unreasonable task master.

"Very well." He took a step back with a handkerchief in one hand which now covered his nose and mouth, clearly this Plutarkian did not like the idea of her being sick, "Be sure to return to your station in good time."

"Yes sir." She bowed low again. She waited until the Plutarkian was again out of sight and turned on her heel before quickly making her way to the door that she had used to enter the facility. Slipping across the lawn and over the fence once more, Angel sprinted back to the ship.

"Your friend is on Vlark!" She panted when she reached the ship and found Nosedive.

"Huh?"

"It's one of their moons, well, sort of." Angel explained, "It also houses one of their biggest research facilities. So, we now know where the research lab is." She finished with a smile.

"Did you find out anything else? Like how she is?" Nosedive asked trying not to get his hopes up.

"Sorry, no." Angel admitted, "But they did say that she's being forced to help them with developing some tech to bring an army to this dimension. Something to do with Draganus."

"The saurian army?!" Nosedive asked.

"I guess so, it's certainly seems that way." She rubbed the back of her neck.

"Um, Angel?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you get out of that outfit now?" Nosedive asked with a slight blush evident under his feathers.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" Angel smirked turning slightly and shaking her behind at him. She laughed again when he lifted his eyes to the ceiling, so he couldn't see. "Oops." Angel said as she pretended to drop something she bent over without bending her knees as if to pick that something up and in that moment, she caught Nosedive's eyes glancing at her exposed underwear. "Pervert!" She laughed playfully.

"You tricked me!" He protested.

"You didn't have to look!" She moved closer till they were face to beak, "If it helps, your ass isn't so bad either." She winked then moved away and left to change. Nosedive watched her go and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well that was interesting." Mookie said from the doorway. A smirk on her face accompanied a twinkle in her eyes.

"Don't you start." Nosedive replied to her.

"She likes you!" Mookie smirked.

"Don't we all like Nosedive? I mean we are all friends." Molly pointed out from Mookie's side with her head cocked to one side.

"Yeah but Angel likes him like your mom likes Wildwing." Mookie winked then grinned wickedly when she saw Nosedive blush slightly.

"She does not!" Nosedive protested.

"Lie to yourself all you want," Mookie snorted, "but she's definitely into you." Nosedive made a face that showed he didn't believe his human friend.

"Whatever you say." He snorted.

"Nosedive?" Molly looked up at him innocently, "If Wildwing marries my mom, and that makes you my uncle. Would that mean Angel would become my aunty when you marry her?" Nosedive's mortified face caused Mookie to burst out into fits of laughter and even Molly giggled at the almost terrified look he had on his face at the suggestion.

"Not funny." Nosedive groaned.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23:**

Angel narrowed her eyes as she watched her target. The GA wanted her to bring in a suspected slave peddler that had been active in the sector they were currently in. She'd been told that the agents assigned to the case had gone missing right before the suspect left for a sector out of their jurisdiction. If it was one thing she hated, it was slavers and she was more than happy to bring the creep in for questioning. They had found him on a planet known for entertainment. There were entertainment sectors for all sorts of things on the planet known as Ejarl, including some not so pleasant ones and tourists would occasionally go missing from the less seedy sectors, only to turn up as slaves in the less desirable sectors or on completely different planets. She had found this particular slaver wondering the black-market district of their smallest city. He was now wondering the back alleys. The perfect place for an ambush, which brought a smirk to her face.

"So that's the dude huh?" Angel glanced behind her at the blonde duck in her company.

"Yep, that's him." She nodded. Angel suddenly moved like lightening and soon had her target on the ground with an energy blade at his throat. Dive blinked before walking over to them.

"You know you could give me a chance to get at least one punch in." He grumbled aiming a glare at the onyx coloured alien who was yelling at Angel in an alien language. "I mean it is what you've been training me for."

"I keep telling you when we spar, you've got to get a whole lot faster if you want to keep up with me." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"GA scum!" the slaver spat at them with a heavy accent. Angel looked down at him with a cold look.

"Hey Dive?"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna try out some of your new moves?" Angel smirked at him knowing full well that Nosedive was more than capable of taking out an over the hill slaver. She moved back and allowed the slaver up. The onyx coloured alien glanced nervously Angel then at Nosedive. Seeming to decide that Nosedive was the less intimidating target, he pulled out a small energy dagger and lunged at Nosedive. Dive dodged the lunge and kneed his opponent in the gut. It didn't drop him for long though and Dive was soon dodging angry slashes with the knife. The blonde duck did his best to keep calm, just as Angel had been teaching him. She had shown him how to watch for the subtle movements in an opponent's muscles in order to predict how they were going to attack. He had been insanely pleased when she had let slip that he'd caught on to the trick a lot quicker than she had. This guy was way too obvious, and it was easy to figure out his moves. He dodged the guy several times, purely to practice his moves and when he was bored he grabbed the offending wrist with his left hand, pulled the limb to one side before lunging forward. With a loose fist he aimed a powerful jab at a bundle of nerves near the armpit. His opponent howled in pain and the blade clattered to the ground. "Nice job blondie." Angel praised her new student.

"After fighting you for the last few weeks, this guy's like fighting a pre-schooler" Nosedive chuckled as he pulled some energy cuffs from a hook on his belt. He activated the cuffs once his opponent's hands were behind his back. "So, we get this dude back to the ship, get him back to back to the nearest GA outpost and we can keep heading to Vlark, right?" Dive asked shoving the slaver forward.

"Pretty much." Angel shrugged. She followed behind the pair and allowed her mind to wonder. She had been surprised at how quickly Nosedive had picked up what she was teaching him. He'd told her that some of his teammates, named Duke and Mallory, had tried to teach him martial arts and sword play before. She had got the impression that they had become frustrated with him when they weren't able to get him to understand what they were asking of him. She watched his back as he pushed their captive along. He was smart, if a little goofy but a natural athlete and he would make a deadly martial artist if he trained hard. She realised he was talking to her, and she had just been caught staring at him "Hmm, huh? What?"

"I said, do you wanna do the honours?" Dive sniggered at her, "You know if I didn't know any better, I could have sworn you were day dreaming."

"Warriors don.."

"Don't day dream?" Dive finished, "Yeah, yeah, I know. Angel, the big bad space pirate wouldn't do anything as girly as day dream, right?" He winked. Angel felt her cheeks go red in embarrassment and she glared at him.

"The space pirate Angel?!" Their captive asked in fear but was completely ignored.

"Oh, I am so kicking your butt in training." She grumbled as she stormed past him and grabbed their captive by the ear, dragging him like an angry mother would their disobedient child.

"Where are you taking me?!" their captive demanded but was again ignored. Dive followed them and watched as Angel took him to the hanger. Angel shoved the slaver into a stasis pod and turned to Nosedive, "Now that that's sorted, what do you say we go get something decent to eat for a change?"

"Sure. Should we get the others?" He asked.

"Nah, Mookie said Molly was feeling unwell, so we should leave them be," She replied, "We can bring them something back." Dive smiled and followed her back out of the ship. They made their way to a local bar that Angel assured him served some nice food and found a seat in the back corner of the establishment. Dive surveyed the bar and frowned. Most of the types seemed to be pretty seedy to him, but Angel certainly appeared comfortable. Although he had learned that Angel was pretty good at masking her emotions, something he was terrible at. He blinked at the beverage he had been handed and consequently sipped. "Is this alcohol?" He asked.

"There's a little in it." Angel shrugged sipping her own beverage as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

"Aren't we too young for..." He started.

"Alcohol?" She sniggered, "There's no age limit in this sector. And it's not strong stuff." She studied him, "Why? You never had alcohol before?" She raised a brow,

"Well…no, actually." He replied, feeling his cheeks flush. She laughed and went to get something from the bar. When she returned, she placed a jug of something else and a spare glass on the table.

"The trick is to stay hydrated." She winked. "But maybe just stick to one or two for today." She grinned with an evil glint in her eye. Dive looked from her to his barely started drink before taking another sip. It was somewhat bitter but wasn't entirely unpleasant. By the time he had got to the end of the beverage his mind was feeling a little fuzzy, but the food had arrived, so he paid it no mind.

"What's a looker like you hanging around a freak like that for?" The pair looked at the cat who had addressed him. The guy was a large guy with a grey tabby colouring, an eye patch covered his left eye and tattoos covered his arms. As he leant forward with a grin Angel and Nosedive could clearly see several teeth missing and his breath stank.

"Speak for yourself uggo." Nosedive scowled at the intruder to their meal.

"Can't you see we're trying to eat here?" Angel asked with a scowl to match Nosedive's.

"I can give you something to eat beautiful." The cat leered. Nosedive glanced at Angel whose face had darkened at the suggestive comment,

"No thanks." She said blankly, "I don't make a habit of entertaining strays." She gave him a dirty look, "Never know what you might pick up."

"Why you!" The cat reached back with his fist and Dive moved before he even thought. The cat's arm was held painfully behind his back and wrenched hard.

"I don't know what your problem is, but I suggest you leave creepo!" Dive snarled before pulling the guy away from the table and pushing him roughly away from them.

"You think I'm afraid of a couple of kids?!" The cat snarled reaching for his weapon. Dive's hand inched towards his own gun.

"I would be if I were you, friend." The trio looked towards the new voice to see another cat, this time more like a lion. A lion Nosedive recognised from one of his many adventures which resulted in a grin.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The cat with the eye patch demanded.

"Not only is that girl the notorious space pirate known as Angel," The lion told the tabby cat, "But that is a mighty duck. And believe me when I say, you should never underestimate those creatures. Even if he appears to be separated from his team." Dive's grin grew.

"Kazar!" Dive exclaimed.

"Hello my friend." Kazar nodded to him with a smile.

"I don't believe it!" The tabby cat exclaimed, "That little runt couldn't be the space pirate Angel!" He growled, "I'm going to teach the little slut a lesson she won't forget! Her and that blonde freak!" He indicated towards Nosedive. Angel stood up and walked to Nosedive's side. Her glare cold and unforgiving. "What's the matter whore? You giving up alre… Oof!" His breath was knocked out of him with a punch to the gut.

"I'll give you thirty seconds to get out of my sight. You've been warned." Angel spat at the older tabby cat. The cat growled but with one look at her eyes he backed away and ran out of the bar. With an ease that always both amazed and terrified Nosedive at the same time, Angel's deadly look changed from dangerous to a beaming smile aimed at him, "So you going to introduce me to your friend?" She asked as if nothing had happened.

"I am Kazar." The lion bowed to her, "I met your friend here, when they were taken as slaves to play space hockey."

"That game where the aim is to kill off your opponent?" Angel looked at Nosedive who nodded. "You and your friends aren't all that lucky, are you?"

"What? A bunch of ducks forced to group together to take down a megalomaniac who took over their planet. Then were forced to follow him to make sure he couldn't do it to anyone else, getting stuck on a backwater planet, in a whole other dimension, where we've been forced to fight the planet's crime and said megalomaniac. Which ended up in my teammate getting kidnapped then Molly, Mookie and me being captured and sent across the galaxy to who knows where?" He took a deep breath, "Other than that, I think we're pretty lucky." He stuck his tongue out at her.

"Goof." She punched his arm. But chuckled nonetheless.

"Made ya smile, though didn't I?" He winked.

"My friend." Kazar got the pairs attention choosing to ignore the amusing scene, "You are searching for missing a teammate?"

"Yeah, Tauny got nabbed." He explained, "Met Angel here when me and Mookie were caught trying to run. Molly managed to get away and bump into Angel here who's been helping us ever since."

"I have heard great things about the terrifying space pirate Angel." Kazar smiled and offered a small bow of respect, "Those who have benefited from your efforts speak highly of you. And those who don't," He chuckled, "Well, the stories are truly entertaining!" He laughed loudly, receiving a smirk in return.

"I'm particularly fond of 'She's a demon, that's why she doesn't die'!" She laughed.

"Yes, that is a particularly entertaining one," he took her hand and kissed the appendage, "Especially for such a beauty as you. I cannot see how anyone could mistake you for a demon of any kind."

"So, what are you doing here?" Nosedive changed the subject, unsure as to why he felt a little uncomfortable with Kazar and his flirtatious behaviour. Even if he was sure Angel was merely playing along. At least he hoped she was.

"I am here to meet someone that might help finally stop those wretched games." He replied then looked beyond him. "Ah, speaking of which. Here is the fellow now." The pair turned to look and saw an Amayan man approach them. He was much older than Angel, perhaps in his 40s or 50s. His hair was white, but Angel knew that didn't mean much as much of the remaining Amayan race had pure white hair. It had been a common hair colour amongst her people, her own being particularly rare. She noted that the approaching man glanced at her for a moment. But in that moment, she saw surprise and wondered what it was about her that could make him look at her like that.

"Are you Kazar?" He asked.

"I am," Kazar replied holding out a clawed had which was taken and shaken firmly, "And you must be Akio."

"Yes, I understand you would like my assistance in some way?" Akio asked.

"That's right." Kazar smiled, "My friends and I would like your assistance to obtain some information for us."

"You already know my fees." Akio shrugged, "Just get me the details and I will simply require half of my fees up front then the remainder on delivery of the information." Angel narrowed her eyes as she noticed that the man kept glancing her way. It was subtle and barely noticeable but when Nosedive seemed to move closer, she wondered if her blonde friend had noticed something as well. She kept her breathing even and her face neutral as she felt for his aura. It was as difficult to read as the man was himself. Which meant that this Amayan was trained to a high level and knew how to disguise his fighting spirit. That didn't bode well if her feeling about him was right. A hand on her shoulder drew her attention to Nosedive.

"Maybe we should leave Kazar to it." Nosedive suggested with his eyes fixed on Akio.

"It was a pleasure to see you again my friend." Kazar told him with a smile, clearly oblivious to whatever it was Angel and Nosedive were feeling, "I wish you well and luck in finding your missing friend."

"Thanks, Kazar." Nosedive said as he and Angel began to leave. "Was something off about that Akio dude? Or was it just me?" He asked when they were outside of the bar.

"It wasn't just you." Angel replied. "Let's get back to the ship." She encouraged. After several minutes she stopped.

"What?" Dive asked but was shushed. With a flick of Angel's wrist, one of the small blades that she kept hidden in her wrist bands were whistling through the air at a target Nosedive couldn't see. Dive pulled out his gun and scanned the area.

"Why are you following us," Angel demanded into the darkness, "Akio, wasn't it?"

"So, the rumours are true." Akio said as he emerged from the darkness with the small blade held safely between his middle and fore finger of his right hand. His eyes were less reserved than in the bar and seemed to glow in excitement, "There is no mistaking who you are, highness." Angel immediately drew her blades but looked confused. "I knew your mother you know." He continued as if he was having a conversation with an old friend, "You are the spitting image of Hisanna. If I didn't know any better, I might have mistaken you for her. But of course, you are younger than she would be. Had she survived of course." He smirked at Angel's growl.

"Nosedive," Angel paused to ensure she had his attention but did not take her eyes off the man in front of her, "Get back to the ship."

"But…" Dive looked between the two not wanting to leave her but also not wanting to get in her way.

"Don't argue." She snapped, "He'll target you to get to me and you can't take him. Get back to the ship and wait for me there." Nosedive almost shuddered. She was talking like a different person again and this person scared him. He'd seen her fight. She was scarily good, but she would beat her opponents with ease. It was like they were insects in her way that she could simply crush with a swipe of her blades. She would usually become serious, but the tone of her voice at that moment, was dangerous, deadly even. "Dive! Go!" She yelled as she lunged forward and raced towards Akio. Dive hesitated for another moment but then did as he was told. He told himself that his job was to find Tanya and get home to the others. He couldn't risk getting killed. If he died, who would rescue his friend. Who would take Molly back to his brother and, more importantly, Jessica? Mookie back to Thrash.

When he got to the ship he leant against the wall by the door and tried to ignore the distant sound of clashing energy blades and war cries. Moogie appeared beside him and rubbed against his leg. He hoped that Mookie and Molly were deeper in the ship and were still oblivious to the potential danger.

"I'm sorry Moogie." He said sadly, "Some hero I am. All I can think about is saving my own hide." He buried his head in his knees in shame. After several minutes he took a deep breath and got up. He pulled out his gun and got up. He nearly cried out in surprise as Angel came rushing in. He dodged out of the way and slammed his hand against the button that would close the door before following her to the cock pit. He sat in the co-pilot's chair as she activated the ship and began the process of getting out of the area. Dive helped by carrying out a few of the checks for her which she gave him a grateful smile for. Neither said a word as the ship blasted its way into the sky.

"You okay?" Nosedive asked.

"Yeah." She said getting up, but she gasped and held her side in pain, dropping to her knees. Nosedive rushed forward and knelt beside her. He gently pulled her hand away from her side to see a deep gash there.

"Fine, huh?" He scowled at her.

"It's barely a scratch!" She protested but there wasn't much weight to her protest.

"Sure, it is." He shook his head and picked her up bridal style.

"Hey!" She squealed and kicked her legs like a child in protest at his actions, "Put me down! I can walk just fine!"

"Because that worked so well a few seconds ago." He pointed out as he carried her to the med bay. Mookie popped her head around the corner from the kitchen, but with the look she received Mookie went back inside, presumably to keep Molly from seeing what was going on. Once inside the small room, Nosedive placed her on one of the two beds in there and grabbed something to clean the wound before using her medical tech to treat the wound. "Who's Hisanna?" He asked as he prepared the gauze with antiseptic fluid.

"My mother was called Hissanna, but I don't know why he would have known her." Angel said with a sigh. She sat sideways on the bed with her legs hanging off the side, "Apparently I look like her."

"She must have been pretty then." Dive said in an off handed way, turning to put the antiseptic bottle down on the table behind him. As he did Angel blushed a little and wasn't sure if he'd ignored her flushed features or if he simply thought she was flushed thanks to the injury. "This is gonna sting." She nodded to him and he gently pulled up her shirt to get a better look at the wound. He fought the urge to wretch, he never was any good at this stuff, but there was no way he was going to leave this for Angel to do herself. She hissed as he gently dabbed at the wound. As he got to the deepest part of the wound she even whimpered quietly. "You okay?" He asked looking up at her.

"Uh huh." She said through gritted teeth.

"You know, you don't have to lie to me." He shook his head as he threw the gauze into the incinerator and moved over to the console that controlled the medi unit. He took a moment to look at the console and remind himself of what to do, "Lie down." He ordered. Angel did so without complaint. Soon the console was whirring to life and working on fixing the skin on Angel's side. "Why do you do that?" Dive asked after a while.

"Do what?" Angel asked looking at the ceiling.

"Why do you always pretend you're fine when you're not?" He explained. "My brother does it too." Angel didn't answer so Dive carried on, "It makes it worse you know." At her questioning look he explained, "The people that care about you can tell when you're not okay. But you still try to pretend, and it hurts sometimes."

"I'm just your lift." Angel pointed out with a bitter edge to her voice, "Why would you care about me?" Nosedive looked at her incredulously, "When we've found your friend, and I get you back to Earth, you'll be done with me. You won't want me around." She said bitterly with a frown, "Just like everyone else in this stupid universe." She added quietly. Nosedive knew he shouldn't have. She was injured, and he was sure she could still snap his neck had she wanted to, but with a growl, he slammed his hands down on either side of her head and scowled at her. Angel jumped despite herself and her eyes stared up at him in surprise.

"Don't you ever say that again!" he snapped, "Yes. I need you to help me find Tanya and get me and the others home. But if you think I'm just gonna drop you after, then you don't know me at all!" He roughly pushed himself back to a standing position and stormed out of the room, "Don't leave till it's done. I'm not cleaning you up again tonight." He added angrily as he left. He stormed down to the training room and punched in the commands that would create the sub space room. When inside he stretched a little before performing a few of the more taxing katas he'd been working on with Angel. He even attacked the punching bag towards the back of the room. After a while he dropped to his knees panting heavily and cursed himself. He wasn't really angry at his new friend. It wasn't surprising she was messed up with the life she lived and with how she avoided telling them anything about her past, he was pretty sure her life had been a lot worse at some point. He knew she wasn't really as confident as her pirate persona let on. In private, she really was just an average teenage girl with a lot of mental baggage. He sometimes found himself wondering what her life might have been like had she been a regular teen on Earth, or even Puckworld. He had thought that she trusted them, thought of him like a real friend. But it seemed that her self-esteem still wasn't letting her realise that he was her friend for better or worse now. What angered him most, was himself. After his thoughts earlier, her words had stung. He had left her because of the need to keep safe for the sake of his brother and Tanya. And he knew damn well that said brother and even his mother, if she was even still alive, would be ashamed of him for leaving her. He stood up and punched the bag one more time, jumping back to avoid the swinging kit. Maybe he wasn't the friend he should have been, but that was going to change, and he would train hard to make sure she felt safe enough to let him watch her back next time. He moved back to the mats and sat down in the lotus position to work on his senses.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

"Ms Fury!" Jessica groaned as she quickened her pace. She had to go out to get something and had taken Grin with her as Wildwing had been busy discussing something with Canard when she had found him. "Ms Fury, a few moments please!" The reporter ran over to the pair. Grin gave her a questioning look, silently asking her if she wanted him to scare the reporter off, but she shrugged.

"Can I help you?" She said in a bored tone.

"Is there any news on your missing daughter and soon to be brother in law?" The reporter asked with his phone in hand to record what she said.

"Not as yet." Jessica replied.

"The whole world knows that Wildwing proposed to you on that fateful night," he moved closer eagerly, Jessica instantly began unconsciously fiddling with the ring on her wedding finger, "how does it feel knowing that your fiancé is responsible for the disappearance of your only daughter?" Jessica frowned.

"He's not responsible." She crossed her arms and glared at the skinny man before her.

"We're told that enemies that they have been fighting targeted the ducks that night." The man reasoned, "So, you and your daughter were just in the way, just like the woman taken with his brother Nosedive and your daughter. Ergo being associated with Wildwing put you in danger."

"And my association with my late husband's father resulted in the murder of said husband and the attempted murder of not only me, but Wildwing and my daughter as well. Not to mention the entire audience in attendance at the pond the night that nut job Zachariah attacked." Jessica growled at him, "Should I blame my late husband for that?!" The reporter tried to stammer a response, but Jessica didn't give him a chance to get anything coherent out, "If it weren't for Wildwing and his friends, I would be dead. So, would my daughter, for that matter, and that creep would not be in a high security jail right now on both murder one charges and attempted murder charges. I'm not going to blame my fiancé for some else's actions and neither should anyone else." She turned on her heel before she said anything she would regret, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do."

"Wait! I…" The reporter tried to stop her, but Grin put himself in the way and glared at the much smaller human. Said reporter gulped and backed away.

"Thanks Grin." Jessica smiled at him when he caught up with her again. "I won't be much longer, I swear."

"I am in no rush." Grin told her calmly. "And that individual had an irritating aura."

"Even I could tell you that." She chuckled before stopping and looking in a shop window.

"Is something wrong?" Grin asked.

"It's Molly's birthday in a week." Jessica told him. "She would love that." She pointed to a large stuffed pony in the shop window. Jessica placed her hand on the window with a pained look.

"Nosedive will ensure that Molly is safe." Grin assured his hand on her shoulder.

"I know." Jessica took a steadying breath. "Ah, screw it." She said before marching into the store and purchasing the toy. She walked back out of the store with the toy safely tucked in a bag. "Let's go." She said as she kept walking the way she had been going before she had been distracted. She stopped outside the store she had planned to visit.

"Would you like me to wait out here?" Grin asked looking at the drug store with apprehension evident on his features.

"Whatever you'd like." Jessica replied, trying not to make anything of what she was about to purchase. She walked into the store and was grateful that Grin did in fact stay outside. She walked around and bought some toiletries then wondered past the section she needed. She took a few deep breaths and grabbed what she needed then hid it under the rest of the items she had grabbed. She quickly paid for her shopping and ignored the curious look the woman on the counter gave her. She hurried out of the store; "I'm done. Let's get back home." She said as she hurried back in the direction of the pond. Grin raised a brow at how flustered the woman was but followed after her.

"Hey look boys!" Jessica stopped halfway home when the male voice called out. Grin was instantly by her side glaring at the man who had spoken. She turned to look at him and saw a large man with long red hair, "It's that crazy bitch who's marrying one of those alien freaks." Jessica rolled her eyes.

"Don't you have something better to do?" She asked with a sigh.

"What'd you say?" His overweight, bald friend said from next to the red head.

"You heard me." Jessica shook her head and began to continue her walk home.

"Hey!" The first snapped, "Don't you walk away from us when we're talking to ya!" The red head punched his left fist into his right palm.

"You should consider your next actions carefully." Grin warned, "You are seriously clouding my aura right now." The pair seemed to think better of what they were doing and walked off. As Grin turned to leave, he was hit in the back of the head with a can. He took a deep breath and followed after Jessica.

"Looks like it's not just the saurians we have to worry about." Jessica said to Grin as they walked.

"I and the others will not let anything happen to you." Grin assured in his usual calm tone.

"I know Grin." Jessica smiled, "I'm actually more worried about all of you." She admitted and at his questioning look, "People like those creeps aren't unusual you know. You've been lucky here. Particularly with how accepting the general public have been as a whole, but not everyone is so accepting of you. My old boss being one particular asshat."

"Thankfully the majority outweigh the minority." Grin told her.

"Don't you get upset?" Jessica asked.

"I know that Nosedive will, and some of my other teammates, when met with such behaviour." Grin admitted, "but to meet ignorance with violence or hatred is counterproductive. You will not get anyone to understand your plight, you will only push them further away."

"And I guess there are those who will never learn, huh?" Jessica asked.

"I wish that were not the case," Grin admitted, "but you are right." Grin opened the door for Jessica and waited for her to walk through.

"Thanks Grin." Jessica smiled at him, "I should be fine now." Grin only nodded and walked towards the rink, presumably to spend some time on the ice. Jessica hurried her way down to the lower levels through the now fixed elevator. She was soon in her room and was incredibly glad that Wildwing didn't appear to be in the room or close by as she pulled out the small box from her shopping bag and rushed to their private bathroom. She pulled out the small white object from the box and followed the instructions. She washed her hands as she waited for the device to work. When the blue line appeared on the device, she wasn't entirely surprised. She knew what being pregnant felt like, but neither she nor Wildwing had worried about any sort of protection as they had both assumed there would be no risk of pregnancy given how different they were physically. Part of her was excited. Not only was she going to marry the one person who had made her insanely happy since Eric had died. But she was also going to have his child. The other part though? The part that belonged to the sister of a doctor, was terrified that the child might not even survive the pregnancy. She needed to speak with Alex about her fears.

"Is that?" Wildwing took a step back when his fiancé nearly jumped out of her skin, "Sorry, I thought you heard me coming." He placed a calming hand on her shoulder and took the test from her hand, then looked at her with an unreadable look on his face, "Is this yours?" He asked, thinking the question sounded lame even to him. Jessica nodded with a small smile. "Are you?"

"I think so." Jessica said quietly.

"That's why you wanted to go to the chemist." Wildwing stated to himself staring at the test feeling like he was in some sort of dream. He snapped his gaze from the test to Jessica with a worried look, "Have you spoken to Alex about this? What if carrying my baby hurts you? What if the baby doesn't survive or kills you both, or…"

"Wildwing!" Jessica placed a hand on his cheek, he looked down at her, "No, I haven't spoken to him yet. Mainly because, he's my brother and I wanted to be a little more…" She considered her words for a moment, "sure before I spoke to him." She blushed, "Plus, I wanted to talk to you first. I mean, it is yours after all. And I wanted to make sure you even wanted a kid of your own." She felt sick at her admission. She was more than happy to have his child, but Wildwing had never mentioned wanting kids of his own.

"I…" Wildwing thought carefully of how to respond, "I've always wanted kids. I just... with everything that's happened in my life, I never thought it would happen." He pulled her close and rested his beak on the crown of her head, "But me wanting kids doesn't mean I want to put you in danger just so I can have my own."

"But if Alex thinks I can have this baby safely?" Jessica asked as she breathed in his scent.

"Then I would love nothing more to have a baby with my future wife." Wildwing beamed at her then looked up at the ceiling, "Wow, that sounds corny, even to me." Jessica laughed at his remark, "We should speak to Alex now. I saw him in the infirmary organising the new equipment."

"Okay." Jessica allowed Wildwing to lead her to the infirmary where they indeed found her twin brother. They filled Alex in and her brother instantly took a blood sample.

"Do you both want this baby?" Alex asked them both seriously. Jessica and Wildwing looked at each other and both smiled before nodding to him. "Well I suppose, I should look up any files about Puckworld pregnancies and see if there is going to be anything different to watch out for, other than the obvious."

"Is there anything I can do to help her?" Wildwing asked with his hand firmly clasping Jessica's.

"Right now, all we can do is treat it like a normal pregnancy." Alex shrugged, "If it's anything like when she was pregnant with Molly she will have morning sickness for the first few months and get progressively cranky. More so than normal." Alex smirked at his sister's scowl that was aimed at him, "So good luck with that!" he clapped Wildwing's shoulder.

"Thanks, I think." Wildwing chuckled.

"I will do a test on your bloods to make doubly sure the drug store test was correct," Alex admitted, "I'll leave it up to the pair of you to decide whether to tell the others now or to wait till you're twelve weeks gone or not."

"Thanks Alex." Jessica hugged her brother.

"It must be nearly time for Molly and the others to make their daily call, isn't it?" Alex looked at his watch.

"Looks like it." Wildwing replied with a goofy grin.

"Well, I'll get to work on the blood and see you a bit later." Alex nodded. He sniggered as Jessica and Wildwing simply nodded as if in a daze. Both had big grins on their faces. He shook his head and turned to the testing equipment.

"We should tell the team now." Wildwing declared.

"Huh?" Jessica looked up at him.

"They need to know." Wildwing continued, "I mean you're going to be more of a target and when you get bigger…"

"You mean when I'm fat." Jessica smirked.

"You won't be fat!" Wildwing protested.

"Sure, I will!" Jessica laughed, "It's just most of it will be baby." She winked. Wildwing suddenly went bright red and looked at something behind her. She turned to see Duke, Canard and Mallory staring at them in shock.

"Um, buddy?" Canard looked from Wildwing to Jessica, "Is there something you guys want to tell us?" Jessica laughed and buried her head into Wildwing's chest in embarrassment.

"Well, actually…" Wildwing wrapped one arm around Jessica unconsciously whilst rubbing the back of his neck with the other. Duke walked forward with a smile. He pated Wildwing's shoulder with his remaining arm as he walked past in the direction of the ready room.

"Molly and the Flashblade to be, are two lucky kids." Duke declared before disappearing through the door.

"You know they'll be calling soon right?" Mallory said as she too walked past them with a knowing smile aimed at Jessica. Jessica stayed attached to Wildwing as they too walked to the ready room with Canard close behind them. Jessica suddenly looked up at them. Grin was already waiting for them in the ready room.

"I don't want them to know!" Jessica declared, "At least not till they're home."

"Why not?" Duke asked them, looking as confused as the rest of his teammates.

"Molly will be so excited to know she's getting a little brother or sister." Jessica admitted. "We don't even know if I can carry a cross species baby to term yet. I…I don't want to get her hopes up, only for this baby to die before…" She held her stomach as her breathing quickened. Wildwing held her tighter and rubbed her arm in soothing circles.

"Then we will keep it from them for now." Wildwing assured her.

"We should keep it from the general public too." Canard told them, "She'll be more of a target if they know. Not to mention any crazed scientists who might be too interested in you."

"She is already receiving verbal abuse from other humans." Grin informed ignoring the glare Jessica gave him.

"What?" Wildwing tightened his grip on Jessica protectively.

"It was just a couple of bigoted thugs." Jessica assured him, "It's nothing to worry about."

"Even more reason for you not to be going anywhere alone, though." Canard frowned, he spotted the surprised looks from his team, "What? I still don't particularly like her, but that doesn't mean I want her getting hurt!"

"Why Canard," Jessica smirked, "How sweet of you." Canard merely rolled his eyes at the woman.

"Mom?" Drake one's screen flickered to life from the incoming call.

"Hey baby!" Jessica beamed at the image on the screen.

"Where's Dive, princess?" Wildwing asked looking for his brother in the room shown on the screen.

"He said he'd be here in a bit." Molly grinned. "Mookie's making dinner. She said you guys don't really wanna talk to her anyway." She made a face that showed that she wasn't convinced, "Dive says we know where Tanya is, and we're all going to go get her!" Molly grinned.

"You know where she is now?" Duke asked with a relieved tone.

"Is she okay?" Mallory asked.

"She's alive." Nosedive said as he entered the room in a pair of loose pants, bare chest and drying his hair with a towel. "She doesn't look too hot though." Mallory raised a brow when she noticed that Nosedive seems to have put on a little more muscle tone than she recalled. He was a fit kid normally, but he wasn't like his brother and was more interested in speed than strength, so was much more slight than Wildwing. That certainly looked like it was beginning to change though. Mallory had to wonder why. Nosedive would complain about their early hockey practices, let alone the training outside of hockey. She had to wonder if this Angel girl had persuaded him to do some sort of training. If the girl had, she was determined to ask Angel her secret.

"Maybe, you should come home, and we can help you get her." Wildwing suggested. 

"It would take too long." Angel said as she too entered the room. Wildwing and the others spotted the bandages around her middle, just showing under her shirt. The girl pulled the shirt down a little and carried on; "While they may be keeping her alive, Plutarkians aren't pleasant slavers and she already looks like she's barely coping with the treatment she's receiving."

"All the more reason for you to need help." Wildwing insisted. "Not to be rude, but you have my baby brother and my step daughter with you." Jessica smiled at the slip Wildwing made, "You're clearly injured, and you're just a kid. We should be helping you!"

"I am no kid." Angel narrowed her eyes at him, "And if I do what you suggest, here is what will likely happen; It will take me three weeks to get my ship to Earth. If I use my hyper drive I could get there much sooner, but then I would use up too much fuel and there isn't anywhere to refuel near Earth, save for Mars and, right now, that's not really an option…"

"Mars?" Mallory interrupted.

"Yes Mars." Angel rolled her eyes, "Mars is inhabited with life, intelligent life advanced enough to have star ship fuel. Only the Plutarkians stripped mined their planet and the fuel they have is kept for emergencies only, so I'm pretty sure they won't want to let me have any no matter what I try to offer their useless government." Angel paused to see if anyone would interrupt her again. When they didn't she carried on; "So after three weeks of getting to Earth, I would pick you up, but then I would need to stop on Saturn to refuel before we could make our way to Vlark. Again, I could use the hyper drive, but I'm considered a pirate in Plutarkian sectors," she developed a grin on her face at her admittance, "so getting more fuel safely without risking damage to my ship would be questionable. So, it would be safer not to use it and take a further two weeks to get to Vlark. I understand that your friend isn't much of a fighter. I also understand that she's a pretty important part of your team. The longer we leave her there, the more likely she will be useless to you for some time, if not permanently. So, not to be rude," She mimicked Wildwing's earlier words, "but, for the benefit of your friend, I'm going to stick to my plan."

"So, you're putting Molly, Dive and Mookie in danger?" Wildwing growled.

"Wing, chill!" Nosedive tried to cut the tension between Angel and his older brother, "Molly stays on the ship with Mookie whenever we go anywhere dangerous."

"What about you?!" Wildwing snapped.

"Come on man! I've been fighting with you guys for years now!" Nosedive clenched his fists and had an exasperated look on his face, "And Angel is helping me get better at hand to hand!" Dive admitted for the first time in an attempt to reassure his brother. Mallory inwardly smiled at his admission, pleased that she had nailed the reason for Nosedive's change in body tone.

"That's not the point Nosedive!" Wildwing pointed out.

"I'm 20 bro! I'm not a kid anymore!" Nosedive almost whined, "I know you wanna keep being my body guard, but I gotta be able to look after myself eventually!"

"We're a team Nosedive!" Wildwing growled, "We're meant to be there for each other! We're meant to watch each other's backs!"

"But you aren't here right now!" Dive pointed out, "Angel is!" Angel cocked a brow at being mentioned in this little spat. Duke also reacted to the comment, looking between Nosedive and Angel curiously. "She can fight too. Better than any of you guys. And that's without a gun! So, for once in your lives, stop treating me like the little kid who screws up all the time and trust me!" Nosedive had been shouting by the time he finished what he had to say. He breathed heavily in anger for several moments before growling in frustration and storming away from the console.

"Dive! Wait!" Wildwing moved closer to the screen in an attempt to reach out to his brother.

"Well that went well." Angel muttered as she watched his retreating form storm off. She turned back to the screen, "He's right though. He's a quick learner and he's smart too."

"We talking about the same Nosedive?" Canard asked none too cruelly. Mallory couldn't help but snort at the remark, earning a glare from Wildwing and Jessica.

"You've all known him a lot longer than me." Angel shrugged, "I know he has a goofy side, but he knows when to be serious and he's picked up what I've been teaching him really quickly. Some of it, quicker than me actually. And given what people say about me that's more than a little impressive." She stretched out her arms with a sigh, "You know my feelings and blondie's feelings here. I think this discussion is over, so why don't you guys spend your time talking to Molly and I'll take off." Angel didn't wait for them to reply and simply left the room. She went to find Nosedive, who was in the bathroom with his hand under the tap. "What did you do?!" She asked as she saw the blood on his knuckles.

"I may have punched the wall." Nosedive admitted, his cheeks flushing at being caught doing something so stupid.

"Is the wall okay?" Angel asked with a smirk.

"Funny!" Nosedive rolled his eyes but smirked despite himself. "Why do they still treat me like some screw up kid?"

"I can't answer that Nosedive." Angel answered with an apologetic tone, "I've never really been around more than a few people at a time for long periods. At least not anyone who I could learn about this family stuff from." Nosedive looked at her curiously.

"Why won't you tell us about your past?" Dive asked her for what felt like the hundredth time since meeting her.

"It's not something I want to talk about." She shrugged before changing the subject, "Come on, lets wrap up that hand for you." She gently took his wrist and led him to his bed. She went to a cupboard where she knew a small med kit was stored, just like she did in all the living quarters. She sat beside Nosedive and gently took his hand. "It doesn't look like you've broken anything." She said quietly as she cleaned his knuckles of blood then began wrapping the hand in gauze.

"Do you think I'm a screw up?" Dive asked.

"Not a screw up, no." Angel told. "You are a goofball though." She smirked.

"Does it annoy you?" He looked away as he asked this.

"Sometimes." Angel shrugged, "But usually it just makes me smile." She looked up at him, "That's not something I do a lot. I mean I give an evil grin here and there, when fighting sleazebags, but someone being funny enough to make me really smile and even laugh," She looked back down at his hands again suddenly embarrassed, "It's new to me. I kind of enjoy it." She almost squeaked as Nosedive pulled her into a hug. Angel wasn't a hugger, she would rarely stop someone from hugging her, but she was never the instigator of hugs. She would normally freeze up though, but this time, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back in return.

"Thanks Angel." Nosedive said squeezing her gently when he felt his hug returned, "Will you promise me something?" He asked.

"What's that?" Angel rested her head on his shoulder finding that she felt comfortable being hugged by Nosedive.

"When this is all over and we get back home with Tanya," He pulled back to look at her and Angel felt almost disappointed, "please stay with us. Just for a little while. I don't want you to be alone again."

"Okay." Angel said without thinking, surprising even herself at her instinctive reply as she looked at him. She almost shook herself to her senses before adding, "Guess we'd better get this plan started so we can prove to your brother and team that you're just as good as any of them. If not better." She winked at him.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25:**

 **So, this one is pretty long. I am working on this story in batches. I often don't like to just upload a chapter as soon as I have written it. Not least because I like to proof ready several times, but also because I will sometimes rewrite a section to match something that has come to mind in a later chapter, so this is why there is sometimes a gap between uploads. I have four or five chapters written so far but I am only going to upload this one and the next one for now. The others will run alongside my BMFM story, so I will also be working on the other half of the story for that as well to ensure that they match and merge really well. Or at least as well as I can!**

 **Thank you to** **Jerseygirl94 for your great review. I'm so glad you like it and I will try and update as often as possible. I am very pleased with this story though and don't want to rush. It took me two years to post anything! XD**

"What is this?" Duke asked as he studied the metal arm on the side in the infirmary.

"Your friend Buzz Blitzman designed it for you." Alex told the ex-thief. "I'm currently studying his notes on how it's going to work and it's my job to figure out the medical side of it. Buzz believes we can get it almost as good as your real arm was."

"So, the egg head kid made me a new arm?" Duke asked placing his remaining hand on the cool surface of the mechanical arm. It was slightly bigger than his normal arm would have been. The surface was a silver colour and it was certainly shaped like his old arm.

"That's right." Alex nodded, "He said his bosses weren't too keen on it but since he used his own funds and resources to make it, they turned a blind eye for now. If it works for you though I'll bet they'll try to patent it so that they can sell them to the highest bidder to be developed for human amputees. You'll get the protype though." Duke nodded at Alex.

"You any ideas on how to connect this thing up to me yet?" Duke wasn't interested in how it was made. He just wanted to know when he might have a working arm back. When he could start his sword training again and be of some use to the team.

"Not as yet." Alex said with an apologetic tone. "Buzz thinks he can make cybernetic nerves that can bind with your own remaining nerves, which can then be hooked up to the arm itself. He says he's working on the prototype for the nerves at the moment. I'm assisting him as much as I can with regards to anything medical. I know it's not ideal and there's no guarantee that this will work like a real arm would. But it should work much better than any prosthetic arm made within the medical sector currently. I've read all the notes, it's potentially a game changing piece of kit. It could improve the lives of thousands of people on this planet who have lost limbs, possibly even those who were born without them." Alex gave Duke the most encouraging smile he could muster, given the circumstances.

"But it's not ready to attach to me yet then?" Duke asked with a sigh.

"Not yet, no." Alex replied, "I'm sorry Duke. I know it's not the best news. But I wanted to let you know that you have people working to at least try and fix what that monster did to you."

"Thanks." Duke gave the human doctor a smile that didn't quite reach his remaining eye. "I need some air. Think I'll go up to the roof for a while." Alex watched him go with a sigh.

The roof was where Jessica found the eldest duck, later that evening. She sat beside him and stared up at the setting sun for several minutes before saying anything to him.

"Just because you've lost an arm doesn't make you useless," Jessica looked to him, "You do know that, right?" Duke looked at her for a moment then looked away with a snort.

"I'm the sword guy!" He laughed, "But I don't have a sword arm. So how does that not make me useless."

"You still have your left arm." Jessica suggested, aware that her suggestion was lame.

"Easier said than done, sweetheart." Duke rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the setting sun.

"You have to know that you're more than the 'sword guy'" She used air quotes to emphasise her point, "I mean, Wildwing has always spoken so highly of your advice. You're like a confidante to him and Nosedive. Not to mention Tanya. You act like a father to most of your team and you're so good with Molly. She adores you."

"Yeah well, three of those people you mentioned," He looked at her with a bitter look, "they aren't about right now." Duke shook his head, "And I was a real big help when they were all taken. Wouldn't you agree?" He added with an exaggerated sigh.

"I'm screwing this up big time, aren't I?" Jessica laughed but there was no mirth in her tone, "You're not the only one who thinks they're useless." She brought her knees up to her chin.

"You kidding?" Duke raised an eyebrow, "Wing told me what you did when the pair of you were taken. If that's useless then I'm a monkey's uncle! At least you could do something. I let Molly and the others get taken without doing anything to stop it."

"For one, I was on the verge of a panic attack the entire time I was in that facility," She pointed out, "In fact I had such a bad one, when they were beating Wildwing, that I passed out!" She clenched her fists, "You, on the other hand, were recovering from a life-threatening injury!" Jessica exclaimed in an exasperated manner. "If that happened now, now that you're a little more recovered, are you telling me you wouldn't have been able to have at least picked up a gun and taken out a few drones? And you were definitely doing something when they took Tanya!"

"Maybe." Duke shrugged. The pair sat in silence for several minutes again, just watching the sky turn dark.

"Duke?"

"What is it Jess?" He asked giving her a sideways glance.

"Did you have a family?" Jessica asked him outright, "Other than the brotherhood, I mean?" Duke stared at her in shock, not expecting the completely off topic question, "You're so good with Molly. And the way you treat some of the others, you seem like you'd make a wonderful father. I just wondered if you ever had kids of your own."

"Once." Duke replied with a sigh. "I don't much like talking about it."

"Why not?"

"They were murdered." Duke shrugged. At Jessica's horrified look that turned to sympathy, he continued, "It was my fault too. I'd crossed a rival of the brotherhood. He'd found out about them and I didn't get to them in time. My wife and baby son were already dead by the time I got there. My two daughters were screaming my name the moment they saw me. I fought their attackers like I was possessed. So, did the brotherhood members who came with me. But there were too many. Not only did I lose this eye," He indicated to his mechanical eye, "But I was overpowered. That monster then killed my daughters one by one in front of me. I could only watch. The screaming was the worst part. There was a point where I wasn't sure when their screaming stopped and mine started." He jumped out of his memory when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry." Jessica moved her hand, so she could rub the older duck's back, "I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

"It was a long time ago now." Duke shrugged, "I'll never forget them, but I can't stay in the past." He looked at the human woman at his side, "Don't tell the others. They don't need ta know about my past. Not like that. It took them long enough to get over my bein' a criminal, without them learning that my… transgressions lead to the slaughter of my own family."

"If that's what you really want." Jessica gave him a sympathetic look. She got up and brushed herself off before moving to leave the roof.

"Jess?" Duke called and waited until she turned to look at him, "Thanks kid."

"You're welcome Duke." She smiled then went to leave, turning she added, "And don't call me kid." She winked before walking through the door.

"Well what do you think?" Angel asked as Nosedive looked at himself in a mirror. The last stop they had made was at the final GA outpost before reaching the more dangerous territories of Plutarkian territories. Angel had been very secretive about what she was stopping for and had merely asked Nosedive to arrange and pay for the fuel they needed, and for Molly and Mookie to go and get more groceries and supplies for the ship. Angel had then disappeared for a couple of hours. When she had finally reappeared, she wouldn't say where she had been or what she had been up to.

It was two days later when Angel had called them all to the lounge room where she had produced all new battle gear for Nosedive. It consisted of form fitting black pants and a matching short-sleeved shirt that, she informed him, were made with a fabric that was tougher than it looked. She also produced some long, armoured boots that went up to his knees together with some gauntlets that protected the back of his fists and reaches right up to his elbows. Both items were designed with concussion devices in them to increase the effect of his attacks when fighting hand to hand. "The boots work like your old ones too, they can create both those ice skate things and the roller blades too. Plus, you have a com unit, and some other goodies, built into them." Angel added sounding a little nervous, "I know it's pretty different to your old gear, but if we're going to be breaking into the facility on Vlark, then your old gear isn't really stealthy enough."

"I think it suits you." Mookie said with a knowing grin on her face that nosedive didn't notice, "Especially with your hair getting longer." Dive's hand went to his hair and he looked back at Mookie, then back to his reflection in the mirror. He had been meaning to ask one of the others to trim it for him, but he kept forgetting or bring side tracked. But he had to confess, he liked it longer.

"When did you even get this? Where did you even get this?" Nosedive asked activating the gauntlets by punching his left palm with his right fist where a button sat. The gauntlets sprung to life and were engulfed by energy that looked like blue electricity flashing across the equipment.

"A friend of mine put it all together." Angel shrugged. Dive looked at her. "At my request," She added sounding embarrassed this time.

"Why?" He asked.

"Why what?" Angel made a face that showed her confusion.

"Why'd you go to the effort of getting this for me?" Dive asked curiously.

"Well," Angel scratched her cheek that was a little pink in embarrassment, "You're getting better with every training session and that gear is less restrictive than the gear you usually use. I mean that upper body armour of yours is pretty bulky. And those gauntlets and boots will make sure you have a fighting chance against any stronger opponents." She then looked away and said a little more harshly, "And why shouldn't I get you something? I hear it's what friends do!" She looked back again showing that her face was redder than Nosedive had ever seen it, "That's right isn't it?" She directed at Mookie. Molly giggled at Angel, thinking the older girl was being silly whilst Mookie's grin grew, and the older woman gave the younger a nod. The purple haired human turned to watch to see how Nosedive would react.

"Yeah," He laughed, "It's what friends do." He pulled her into a hug and Mookie was interested to see Angel return the hug, "Thanks Angel. It looks awesome."

"You're welcome." Angel replied and stood back looking every bit the awkward teen.

"So, we gonna go get what we need from this station, or what." Nosedive winked. Angel nodded, and both the purpled haired pirate and the blonde hero left the ship leaving Mookie and Molly behind as was often the case.

"Mookie?" Molly looked up at her human friend.

"Yeah pip squeak?" Mookie smiled down at the child.

"Angel really likes Nosedive, doesn't she?"

"I think so, yeah." Mookie replied.

"Do you think Nosedive likes Angel a lot too?" Molly cocked her head to the side as she was often inclined to do when she was thinking about something.

"I don't know yet." Mookie ran a hand through her growing hair that now had dark roots at the base and fuzz where it was normally shaved bald. "But, I guess we'll find out eventually."

Nosedive stayed close to Angel. The station they were on was not neutral and he knew it was incredibly dangerous for her to be there. There was a bounty offered by the Plutarkian high council of 2 million gills if anyone brought her in. From what he understood, this was enough for anyone in the sector to live the good life for a very long time. He felt eyes on them as they moved through the station. He still wasn't sure why they were stopping at the run-down space station, but after a couple of months of travelling with the purple haired pirate, he had learned to trust the girl's judgement. Angel confidently walked into a bar and up to the counter.

"Miss Angel." The bar tender, who was a tall, muscular yellow skinned man, with red hair and eyes, nodded to her. He acknowledged Nosedive with a nod as well but didn't say anything to him, "I heard rumours you'd found yourself a lover." He smirked at the girl's scowl and the young duck's obvious embarrassment.

"You heard wrong." Angel shook her head, "I'm helping him find his missing friend."

"That so?" He studied Nosedive carefully, "You could do better anyway." The man shrugged. Nosedive wasn't sure whether to laugh of be offended. He settled for a snort of sorts. "What can I do for you beautiful?"

"What can you tell me about Vlark and the main research facility there?" Angel asked him. Nosedive noticed a group of mice and another Amayan girl enter the bar and head to the other side of the establishment before taking seats. The group began discussing something between themselves. The Amayan girl seemed slightly older than Angel and had the more common white hair with the usual markings on her face. She was accompanied by three mice. One was a female mouse, all in black with snow white fur and hair that cascaded down her back in curls. He could see some kind of tattoo beneath her shirt on her back. The other two were male. One with the same snow-white fur as the female mouse, only his hair was trimmed very short so that it looked like he didn't have additional hair on his head. Half his face was covered by a shiny metal mask and while he wore navy blue jeans, he also wore a set of bandoleers crossing over his shoulders and chest. Fingerless gloves and black boots finished his look. The last male had cream coloured fur. A tuft of dark brown hair with a yellow streak served as his hair and he wore what looked like some kind of old army fatigues. This male was younger than the white male and sat quite close to the young Amayan. Said Amayan caught Nosedive staring and he looked away.

"For a Plutarkian slave station, the security is top notch." The bar tender replied, "Not sure even you could pull off an infiltration of that place without tripping some sort of alarm going in. Never mind getting out of the place."

"I don't suppose you have any schematics or intel I could study." Angel asked sweetly with her best smile. The bar tender put down a glass he was cleaning and leant across the counter.

"You don't get nothing in this universe for free missy," He said with a raised brow, "How much is it worth?" Nosedive found himself not really caring for where the bar tender's eyes were staring for some reason so settled for turning to lean against the bar and watch the other patrons. He would leave Angel to her negotiating. The group he had seen earlier were still in the same place, but this time a haggard looking mouse had approached them and began hassling them. The female with white fur the same shade as his brother's feathers, he noted, waved the mouse off, but she was ignored. The haggard mouse began shouting something, although Nosedive couldn't hear what it was over the din of the other patrons. Whatever it was seemed to upset the males of the group, one of which got up and faced off against the haggard mouse. It was the white male and Nosedive wondered if the pair were related. " _Brother and sister maybe?_ " He thought to himself. The haggard mouse reached behind him and pulled out a gun. Nosedive watched as some of the surrounding patrons dispersed to allow the two fighting mice room to sort out their quarrel. A handful stayed where they were, presumably because they wanted to get the best view of the outcome. Nosedive made double sure his own gun was ready to draw if he needed it and continued to watch.

"I'll give you 700 gills Rax." Nosedive heard Angel snap.

"And here I thought you'd want some experience." Nosedive gave the yellow alien a scathing, sideways look at the comment, which didn't go unnoticed by the alien.

"You're a sleeze, you know that?" Angel more stated than asked. "Well do you accept."

"Tell you what." Rax responded, leaning closer to her, "One kiss and I'll give it to you for free." He smirked and licked his lips. Something in Nosedive snapped. He turned his attention away from the escalating fight in front of him to the yellow alien behind him. He grabbed Rax by his shirt collar and shoved the barrel of his gun into the alien's throat.

"How about you just give her what she wants, and I won't blow your brains out." Nosedive snarled, surprising even himself at the animosity in his tone. Angel raised a brow beside him but didn't comment. Instead she turned her attention back to Rax, her sweet smile back on her face.

"Make it 500 gills Rax." She smirked, "Final offer. Any more suggestive behaviour and my offers keep going down. Plus, I might just let Nosedive here, carry out his threat." Rax looked from Angel to the still furious Nosedive and sighed.

"Fine." He said raising his hands in defeat, "Set me lose and I will get the info transferred to your ship."

"Pleasure doing business with you." Angel smiled.

"I want my gills!" Rax snapped. Angel pulled out her palm pad and typed in a few commands.

"All done." Angel told him. Rax tapped his fingers on the side before checking his computer. Once satisfied he had been paid, he sent the commands to send all the information Angel required to her ship.

"And your information has been transmitted." He told her. "Now are you going to actually buy something here or…" Angel stepped to one side just before the haggard mouse from before landed hard on the bar. Nosedive turned in the direction the mouse had flown from to see a full bar fight taking place involving pretty much all of the group, save for the Amayan. The white haired Amayan seemed to spot Angel and carefully made her way over to her.

"What are you doing here?" She said with a smirk.

"Getting info on my next job." Angel shrugged, "What about you? What is the Silver Sabre doing in this sector? Last I heard you had just managed to blow up an entire planet!"

"That was self-defence!" The white-haired girl replied defensively. "And it wasn't as if the planet was occupied!" She turned to Nosedive, "You going to introduce me to your cute friend or what?" Nosedive raised his brows at the newcomer as his cheeks flushed a little at the comment.

"This is Nosedive." Angel responded, "Nosedive, this is Kimaya. Although the Plutarkians know her as the Silver Sabre. Kind of like how I'm known as a pirate round here. Everyone who knows her personally though, calls her Kim or Kimmy. Of course, I hear her mom calls her kimmy cup!" Angel sniggered.

"Hi, your friends need help or anything?" Nosedive asked looking over Kim's shoulder at the brawling mice.

"Nah, they need to let off some steam." Kim shrugged then scowled at Angel, "And for the last time, never bring up my mother's stupid nickname for me!" Angel just laughed. "So, what's the job?" Kim continued as if they were old friends.

"Rescuing a friend of his," Angel indicated to Dive with her right thumb, "then taking everyone home to Earth." Angel informed her. "We're headed to Vlark."

"Vlark?!" Kim asked as if to be sure. "We're looking for missing friends as well, and we managed to get intel that one of them is being held there!"

"Another mouse?" Nosedive asked still watching the brawl with a wary eye.

"Human, actually." Kim replied. This got his attention.

"Human?" Dive frowned.

"It's a long story." Kim said with a shrug, "But this woman and two of our friends were taken from Earth then spread between Plutark and their slaver moons. We've been trying to get to this sector ever since. I'm meeting my mother and her crew on what's left of Azmaria to regroup before we figure out exactly how we're going to pull this off." Angel was staring at the white mouse with a mask over half his face.

"That's Vincent Van Wham, right? Maisey's brother?" Angel asked.

"Uh, yeah." Kim replied.

"The Plutarkians mentioned freedom fighters who had been taken." Angel leant back against the bar with a thoughtful look on her face, "I'm guessing that the pair taken were Throttle and Modo. Or maybe one of those two and Stoker?"

"It was Throttle and Modo." Kim replied. "They killed Throttle's girlfriend when they took him. Stoker is back on Mars trying to sort out the latest mess their government has made."

"Harsh." Nosedive frowned, "If your friend is being held in the same place as Tanya then we can get your friend out whilst you go for the others." Nosedive suggested.

"I'm not sure Vinnie would be too pleased about that." Kim looked over her shoulder at the white mouse who currently had a Catatonian in a head lock. "The guy's got it bad for Charlie and I doubt he'll trust anyone else when rescuing her." Dive was only mildly surprised at her admittance, after all, if his brother could fall for a human, a Martian mouse wouldn't be much different. "If you really want to help though, we can figure out the details when we rendezvous with my mother on Azmaria." She looked back at them, "So the two of you in or what?"

"What's there to lose?" Dive looked at Angel.

"I guess extra help couldn't hurt." Angel shrugged, "Just don't get in my way Sabre." Angel added with a smirk.

"Me?" Kim rolled her eyes, "Speak for yourself pirate!" She shook her head before putting her fingers to her lips and whistling loudly. "Are you guys done! We have business to take care of and a bit more help to get it done!" She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder at Angel and Nosedive. Angel still leant against the bar but crossed her arms as if challenging the mice approaching them, all having forgotten their recent brawl.

"Been a while, pirate." Mai smiled, "You after something the Plutarkians have too, huh?"

"Someone." Angel corrected. "And yes."

"Why don't we take this back to the Orion before our new friends decide to get physical again?" Rimfire asked looking over his shoulder at some of the men they had been fighting, who were picking themselves up and looking ready for round two.

"Suits me!" Vinnie growled punching a fist into his palm menacingly, whilst looking at some of the groaning fighters that were getting to their feet.

"Longer we play here," Maisey interjected, "The longer Charlie has to wait for you to rescue her." She pointed out. Vinnie looked at his sister and sighed.

"You're right." He stalked off towards the exit to the bar and the small group followed.

"I'm fine mom." Jessica tried to assure her mother, but Elizabeth Fury was having none of it.

"Have you heard from Molly today?" Lizzie asked her daughter her British accent being more obvious through her worry and anger, despite the years she had spent in America.

"Not yet but they don't usually call until a bit later in the day." Jessica shrugged.

"How was your last check up with Alex?" He mother continued, "Is the baby developing properly? Are you both staying healthy. Are you eating properly? Are…?"

"Mom!" Jessica snapped at the screen in front of her, "I told you, I'm fine!"

"Well, so long as you're sure." Lizzie didn't sound convinced, "We can still come down to Anaheim to give you a hand if you need us to. We can get someone to watch the farm and…"

"Seriously mom." Jessica groaned, "I love you both, but you guys being here would only stress me out more. Not to mention give the ducks more people to watch out for!" Jessica took a steadying breath, "Please just stay in Chicago for now."

"Well, if we can't go there, the least that fiancé of yours can do is bring you here to visit." Lizzie grumbled, "They have their own private jet and they haven't once come up for dinner! And now they've gone and got my granddaughter kidnapped!"

"Mother!" Jessica stood up instinctively at the last comment, "None of this was their fault!"

"Jess?" Wildwing asked as he entered their shared room. His face showed worry at Jessica's raised voice.

"Wildwing." Lizzie greeted her soon to be son in law rather coldly.

"Uh, hi Mrs Fury." Wildwing replied nervously. It was rare he joined in when Jessica or Molly had spoken to the Fury Seniors and if he was honest the couple were more than a little intimidating.

"Mom! Now really isn't the time to be coming up for a visit!" Jessica rubbed her temples.

"Well perhaps that's where you're wrong." Lizzie leant back in her chair and folded her arms, "Charlene is missing."

"What?!" Jessica paled.

"Jessica's best friend?" Wildwing asked as his hands held his fiancé's shoulders.

"The very same." Lizzie told them.

"When?!" Jessica demanded. "How?!"

"About 6 weeks ago." Lizzie admitted, "Perhaps a week or so after that first duck was kidnapped. Before our Molly was taken."

"And you're only telling me this now?!" Jessica asked angrily.

"Well your father felt that you had enough to worry about." Lizzie replied, from her body posture, the older woman clearly hadn't been in agreement with her husband.

"She's my best friend!" Jessica snapped.

"We were waiting for the right time to bring it up." Elias Fury said from somewhere off screen.

"Dad." Jessica growled at the screen looking for her father. The patriarch of the Fury family walked into view.

"Jessica." He smiled to his daughter, then turned his smile to Wildwing. "Son." He tipped his hat to Wildwing who stared at the old man in shock.

"I'm not sure he deserves either of us calling him our son until Molly is home!" Lizzie protested.

"That's enough Lizzie!" Elias scolded his wife, "From what I hear, he did everything he could to keep our little girl alive and his brother is doing the same for our granddaughter! Our girl is marrying the boy for Pete's sake! Stop being such a pig-headed old bat and be nice to the boy!" Wildwing managed to cover a laugh with a cough but he could see Jessica clearly smirking beside him. Elias looked at his daughter again, "Listen, there's been rumours of some folks, similar to the ducks, right here in Shy Town. Aliens to be precise. Way I hear it though, they were furry rather than feathered. I don't know much more since I only heard the rumours. Seems Charlene got in deep with these heroes and now she's disappeared, and no one knows where she's gone."

"This nasty businessman is trying to buy up the garage and the land surrounding it!" Lizzie said indignantly, her previous grievance with Wildwing momentarily forgotten. "You ask me that horrible man has something to do with all this!"

"I've been to the garage and taken a look." Elias told his daughter, "There was some damage to the frontage. I've boarded it up for now and I've booked some workmen in to repair the damage. I've also picked up a few of her bills."

"But we can't do that forever." Lizzie said sadly, "Eventually we won't be able to keep doing it…"

"And if Charlene doesn't reappear, then that man will get his hands on the garage." Elias finished.

"Charlie put her heart and soul into the garage." Jessica clenched her fists. "She wouldn't leave it in that state. And she certainly wouldn't leave for any long period of time without telling one of us and certainly not without getting in another mechanic to keep the business running."

"Maybe we should visit Chicago." Wildwing turned to Jessica. "I can go check it out and see if I can find anything that could point to her whereabouts. If the rumours about aliens are true, then maybe whoever they were fighting are the ones helping Draganus."

"That's kind of clutching at straws Wing." Jessica pointed out.

"I know," Wildwing, "But it will let you to visit your folks and I can feel like I'm doing something about this mess."

"If you say so." Jessica cupped his cheek and stroked it with her thumb.

"It's settled then!" Lizzie clapped her hands together. "I'll set up the guest house for you all!" Lizzie got up and left without even saying goodbye, muttering the whole time about what food she'd need to buy in and anything else she might need to do in readiness for their arrival.

"I'll have Demon all ready for you when you get here." Elias told her with a wink, before pressing the button to sign off.

"Demon?" Wildwing asked her.

"My horse." Jessica told him with a shrug.

"Well," Wildwing stretch his arms above his head, "Guess I'd better tell Canard the good news."


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26:**

Angel wondered through what had been the capital city of Azmaria, once upon a time. It was a strange feeling to her. Angel had never known the planet, she had been born just after the destruction of the majority of her people. Evidence of the massacre that occurred in this city was all around her. There was a pang in her heart everything she saw the remains of an Amayan scattered in piles around the crumbling buildings. She had to wonder what it had been like before the Plutarkians had attacked.

"You can't help them now." Nosedive guessed what she was thinking. Angel turned to look at him.

"That doesn't make it any less tragic." Angel said, "They can't all have been warriors," she pointed out, "and I've counted at least three sets of bones belonging to children." Nosedive moved closer to Angel and held her upper arms.

"Maybe we should go back to the ship?" He suggested.

"Not yet." Angel replied stubbornly, moving away from him and heading onwards. "There's supposed to be a palace somewhere up ahead. I want to check it out." Nosedive merely nodded and followed her. Nosedive found it strange. He had heard Angel in the midst of one of her regular bad dreams the night before. He had almost decided to knock on her door and see if she was okay when he had heard her leave her room. He had swiftly got dressed and caught up with her as she had been fitting a space shield to her belt. It was a device that would create a field around her to protect her from the toxic air on her home planet, a result of the Plutarkians and what they caused with their strip mining the planet. She had noticed him quickly and had tossed him a space shield without uttering a word. Then she had left the ship without even looking to check that he was following her.

After half an hour of looking, Angel looked up at what she believed to be the palace. There were whole sections that were nothing but rubble. Other parts were still standing but she could see that they would topple at the slightest pressure. She and Nosedive would have to be very careful exploring the building.

"Maybe you should stay here?" She suggested.

"Not a chance." Nosedive glared at her and crossed his arms in a defiant manner.

"Ugh fine." She said with an eye roll, "Just be careful. I'd rather not be digging you out from under any of those dodgy looking walls."

"Yeah, yeah. Be careful. I know." Nosedive gave her an eye roll of his own and confidently strode past her into the building. Angel watched him go before trotting after him. "So, if this is a palace," He asked jumping over some rubble in his way, "Does that mean your planet had kings and queens and stuff?"

"It was an Empire." Angel told him, "At least that's what I heard. I don't really know more than what little information I've come across since I esca… Um," She paused to rethink how she was going to word her response. Nosedive gave her a curious look, but Angel carried on before he could ask about it, "Since I became a pirate. The Plutarkians hit the palace first. From what I understand the Emperor and his family, not to mention his army and the royal mystics were a force to be reckoned with."

"If that's the case, then how'd those lousy Plutarkians take them down?" Nosedive asked.

"There are good and bad in any race." Angel told him, he turned to look at him, "They were betrayed. I don't know who by, but I do know that the Emperor and his family were all slaughtered thanks to someone they trusted."

"That sucks." Nosedive leant against some rubble which suddenly gave way, causing a plume of smoke to engulf the blonde. Nosedive coughed and spluttered then moved out of the dusty area.

"Goof." Angel chuckled with a shake of her head in amusement. "Told you to be careful."

"Hey, what's that?" Nosedive pointed to a large wall with what was left of a painting on it. Dive approached it and lifted up part of the torn and tattered canvas. He looked at the woman staring back at him, then back at Angel. The resemblance was uncanny. Same hair, same eyes. He lifted the torn canvas a little higher, so he could get a better look at the pair in the painting. The woman wore a crown and, where she sat on a throne, a man stood beside her looking lovingly down at the small child in her hands, another crown sat on his head. The woman looked older than Angel and she'd be much older now, if she was still alive. _"But there's no way they can be related."_ Nosedive thought to himself, _"I mean she said that they all died in the attack. I know she was born off planet, so it must just be a coincidence."_ He looked over his shoulder to see that Angel had found something. He took one more curious look at the painting before wondering over to see what his friend had found.

"It looks like an old computer console." Angel explained as he got close.

"Does it still work?" Nosedive asked.

"Even if it did, there's no power." Angel pulled off a panel before rooting inside the old machine. She finally pulled out what looked like a mother board and placed it in a shoulder bag that she had brought with her. "Let's get back to the ship. I wanna see if I can pull anything off this."

"No complaints here." Nosedive shuddered, "this place is beyond creepy!"

"I guess now is probably not the time to tell you about the Amayan philosophies surrounding lingering spirits then?" Angel asked him innocently, a small smirk on her face. Nosedive had been looking around from left to right as she had asked the question. Angel managed to pick up and throw a small piece of rubble so that it landed somewhere to their left without his noticing. Nosedive let out a high pitch yell and looked in the direction of the noise before turning to glare at the now laughing Angel.

"You can be a real brat sometimes, you know that." Nosedive pouted.

"Awe come on," she batted her eyelids at him, "Can't I be a goof sometimes too?" Nosedive looked at her with a shocked expression that turned into laughter.

"Girly girl, I am a bad influence on you!" Nosedive almost doubled over with laughter. Angel laughed with him when something caught her eye. She narrowed her eyes as if trying to get a better look at whatever had caught her attention. "What is it?" Nosedive looked behind him with a worried expression trying to see what had suddenly killed their moment.

"I'm not sure." Angel said before walking in the direction of what had caught her attention. She frowned when she realised it hadn't really been something she had seen but something. That something was still drawing her forward. She stared at a large pile of rubble as if she could see through it.

"Am I missing something?" Nosedive peered over her shoulder. "It looks like a regular pile of rubble to me."

"I think there's something underneath." Angel muttered, she knelt down and began to pull at the smaller pieces of rubble, working around the larger parts she wasn't strong enough to move herself.

"You think?" Nosedive asked. "Wait, does this have something with that weird psychic thing you did when I had that flash back?" Angel gave him an offended look and Nosedive added sheepishly; "I meant cool, I swear!"

"Sure, you did." Angel said sounding a little hurt, "Will you stop pointing out how weird I am and give me a hand. I'm sure there's something under here that I'm meant to find." Nosedive knelt down and began to help her dig.

"I'm sorry Angel." He said quietly keeping his eyes on the rubble he was working on clearing. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"You didn't upset me!" Angel said a little tersely, "Who's upset?!" She added pulling a large piece of rubble backwards and falling on her behind. Nosedive was quick to catch it before it could land on her foot. Angel pulled her foot away and Dive let the piece go. It landed with a thud and they sat there in silence for a while.

"So, you're not mad at me, huh?" Nosedive asked in a teasing tone.

"Shut up blondie." Angel got to her feet and began digging again. Nosedive joined her.

"So, what's with that psychic thing of yours anyway?" Dive asked her, "I don't see you use it much."

"I don't like to." Angel shrugged, "I don't really know how it works. I've been trained in martial arts, and I know that my people had mystics. I'm guessing what I can do has something to do with that. But I also know that what I can do, just like my hair colour, is still rare for my people. So, finding someone who can teach me how to use whatever it is I can do, is pretty much impossible."

"Why," Dive stopped to look at her, "I thought you said there were still some Amayans left. Kimaya and her mom being two of em right? Maybe they could…?"

"All the mystics were killed." Angel shrugged, "I looked into it when the power first, um, I guess you could say, developed. Even if there were new Amayans with mystical abilities, they'd be just a clueless as me."

"Man that…" Nosedive stopped as he spotted a flash of gold, "What's that?" He tossed the piece of rubble he had been moving to the side and leaned forward to get a better look. In the hand of a skeleton was, what looked like a sword hilt.

"It looks like a traditional Amayan blade." Angel replied she reached out to pick it up and as she did her eyes went wide. The markings on her face glowed and she let out a gasp. Angel was bombarded with images that suddenly flashed through her minds eye. They were moving too fast to really focus on any one image, but she could feel the fear of the beings within those images and it was overwhelming. She felt the sword being wrenched form her hand and someone's arms wrapping around her. After a few moments she could hear Nosedive trying to bring her back. She wrapped her arms around his sides and buried her face in his neck as she tried to get herself under control.

"You back with me?" Nosedive asked as the teen's breathing seemed to become less panicked. Angel tightened her grip and he could feel his neck become damp, " _Is she crying?"_ Angel never cried, at least not that he had ever seen. He rubbed his friend's back and glanced at the sword. Using his left foot, he kicked the offending object away from them as if it was offensive.

"I'm sorry, I…" Angel looked up at Nosedive who chuckled. Without thinking, Dive wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb. She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand before realising what she was doing and quickly moved away from him with a blush.

"We should go back to the ship." Nosedive told her, "I don't wanna see you freak out like that again today." He told her, trying to figure out why he felt so disappointed when she had moved away from him, "And Kim's mom is supposed to be here tomorrow, so we can figure out how we're gonna rescue everyone." Angel just nodded and hurried past him in the direction of her ship. Dive followed closely to make sure his friend was okay.

"I'll make dinner." Angel said quietly, "Just have to wash up and change first." Nosedive watched her go cautiously then made his way to the ship situated next to Angel's, the Orion.

"Hey Nosedive!" Kim greeted as he found her with the rest of her group looking over a map laid out on a table in one of the more spacious rooms.

"What's up kid?" Vinnie asked the young duck.

"Yeah you look like Rimfire when he's about to do something stupid." Kim quipped.

"Hey!" Rimfire whined.

"You know anything about mystics?" Nosedive asked Kim directly.

"As in Amayan mystics?" Kim asked, receiving a nod in the affirmative, "Well yeah. I mean I haven't actually met any. As far as I'm aware, all mystics and their families' remains, are somewhere on this planet. The Plutarkians made sure to round them all up and bump them off as soon as they could. Same with the royal family. Why?"

"We were out exploring earlier, and Angel found this sword." Dive tried to explain, "When she touched it her face markings and eyes glowed and it was like she was in some sort of trance. It took me forever to get her attention and pull her out of it."

"Hmn," Kim turned slightly so she could lean against the table. "You seen anything like that happen before?"

"Well, she pulled me out of a flashback a little while back." Dive shrugged. "She said she doesn't really know how to use whatever ability she has so she doesn't use it much."

"Makes sense." Kim shrugged, "Plutarkians only allowed any captured warriors survive so they could sell them to the entertainment industry in their sectors." Kim growled. "Finding someone to teach her our way of fighting wouldn't be impossible, but finding a mystic to train her? Well that's another story."

"Could it hurt her?" Nosedive asked a little worried what the answer would be. The group looked at each other at the strange question, then turned to him with a smile.

"I guess they could, if she ever lost control while using them." Kim walked over to Nosedive and placed her hand on his shoulder, "I don't think you'll have too much to worry about. It sounds like she's in control most of the time." She paused and looked at him curiously, "You really care about her, don't you?"

"Of course, I do! She's a friend and…"

"Seems more than that to me." Vinnie chuckled.

"Yeah," Maisey chimed in, "I see the way you look at her." The white furred female winked at him, grinning at the blush she caused.

"Come on guys," Rimfire shook his head, "Cut the guy a break!"

"I'd better get back to the ship." Nosedive said awkwardly as he avoided all of their gazes.

"Nosedive," Kim called, "my mom will know more about the mystics than I ever would. She was in the royal guard before the invasion. The mystics formed part of that guard. So, she would have worked alongside them. At the very least she might have some information on how Angel should go about exploring her abilities."

"Thanks." Dive rubbed the back of his neck and left.

"Hey Angel." Mookie greeted as she and Molly found Angel cooking in the kitchen.

"Hey." Angel responded without even looking up.

"You okay?" Mookie frowned. Moogie trotted up to his owner and purred as he weaved to and fro between her legs, rubbing against her. Angel smiled and leant down to scratch her pet behind the ears.

"I'm fine." Angel replied, although it seemed like she was talking to Moogie rather than Mookie.

"So," Mookie chose to change the subject, "We know what's happening yet? With rescuing Tanya, I mean." Angel looked back at them before serving up the food she had been making onto plates.

"We're waiting for Mimosa and her crew to get here." Angel replied, "Apparently they needed to pick up something from the GA before they could rendezvous with us." Angel placed a plate in front of Mookie first then Molly, before grabbing Moogie's food and placing his bowl on the floor. The psion mewled at her and quickly tucked in. "Where's Nosedive?" Angel asked as she sat down with her own food.

"Not sure." Mookie shrugged.

"He said he was going to have a shower." Molly told them. "I saw him go into his room right before I went to find Mookie and he told me so." Angel briefly wondered what Dive had been up to that had meant he was only just showering but she decided to leave it be and began eating her food.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Mookie asked suspiciously. "You're not normally this quiet."

"I told you I'm fine!" Angel snapped then instantly regretted it when Mookie and Molly looked at each other in shock, "Sorry." She added quickly before taking her plate and emptying the rest of her food into the incinerator. "I'm tired. I think I'm going to get an early night. Tell Nosedive his food is in the warmer and to help himself."

"Okay." Molly replied. Both she and Mookie looked at each other again, "Is Angel upset with us?"

"I don't think so." Mookie scratched her cheek, "Maybe something happened when they were out."

"I hope she's okay." Molly said.

"Yeah squirt, me too." Mookie looked in the direction Angel had left.

Later that night Nosedive jolted awake. He looked at his ceiling whilst wondering what had woken him and when he'd become such a light sleeper. That was when he heard whimpering from the neighbouring room. It wasn't uncommon, and not for the first time, he wondered if he should check on Angel. Normally he would convince himself that Angel wouldn't appreciate him letting on that he knew about her night terrors. He sat straight up at the blood curdling scream. That certainly wasn't a regular occurrence.

"What's going on?" Molly asked from the room she shared with Mookie. Molly stared fearfully at Angel's bedroom door as she held Moogie in her arms. Mookie was behind Molly rubbing her eyes.

"Not sure yet." Nosedive replied as he tried to open Angel's door. "Locked!" He growled and slammed his fist against the door. Angel screamed again and Moogie scrambled out of Molly's arms. He bounded over to the door and changed to his larger size. With one paw he unlocked the door and shrunk back to his normal size before trotting in. Nosedive followed and almost panicked when he saw the empty bed. He heard more whimpering and found Angel in the far corner of the room curled up as if trying to get away from something.

"Please don't." Angel whispered her plea. Nosedive leant down and studied Angel for a moment. Her cheeks were wet and, while her eyes were open, they seemed to be focussing on something that wasn't there. Her thin night clothes of a shirt, long pants and a cardigan covering her arms, were drenched in sweat.

"Angel?" Nosedive asked as he moved closer. The girl before him looked like she was trying to melt into the wall. "Angel, it's just me. It's Nosedive. No one's gonna hurt ya here girly girl." He reached out a hand to her and touched her right arm. Angel squeaked and shied away from him. "Come on Angel. You're worrying me." He muttered before gently placing a hand on both of her cheeks. "Angel." He said sternly, "Angel listen to me! You're safe here. I don't know what you're seeing but it's not happening! So, come back to us girl!" Angel breathed heavily for several minutes, but Dive could feel the tension begin to leave her body. Her eyes seemed to finally focus on him, "Hey."

"What?" Angel looked around and saw Mookie and Molly in the doorway looking worried, she looked back at Nosedive and felt her face go bright red.

"Angel?" Nosedive said gently, "Are you okay? And don't lie to me." Angel's face crumpled, and she burst into tears. She flung her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder. "Hey, hey!" Dive was only mildly conscious that Molly and Mookie was watching the scene as he wrapped his arms around Angel and shushed her as best he could. "Angel, please tell me what's wrong." Dive tightened his grip when he felt her hold on more tightly. She mumbled something into his neck, "What was that?"

"I said," She pulled away from him and stared at her hands that she rested on her knees, "You might hate me."

"You're crazy girl!" Nosedive shook his head.

"Why would we hate you?" Molly asked sitting next to Angel.

"Because I'm not who you think I am." She replied. "I'm not some tough space pirate. Not really. That's all just an act I put on and…" Nosedive and Mookie started to laugh. "What's so funny?!" She asked self-consciously.

"We already knew you were putting on an act!" Mookie informed her, still chuckling.

"Yeah," Nosedive agreed, "You're terrifying on the battlefield, but you're completely different around us. If that wasn't a clue that the pirate thing is just an act, then I don't know what is!" Dive brushed a tear from her right cheek. He stopped when he felt eyes on him. Clearing his throat, he continued, "Please Angel. Please tell us what's wrong." He begged. Angel looked to each of her friends. She sensed nothing but concern from them and took a deep breath.

"I was born a slave." Angel began taking off the cardigan covering her arms to reveal an ugly scar on her right arm. Smaller scars littered both arms, Nosedive recognised some as whip marks. Others he was sure were made by a blade.

"Is that why you always cover your arms?" Molly asked looking at the scars as if they would jump off Angel's skin and attack her. Angel rubber her arms, looking very uncomfortable and very young in that moment.

"This larger one," Angel indicated to the one on her upper right arm, "it's a brand. It tells anyone who sees it exactly who owns me." She told them bitterly. "It was smaller at first, but then I was gifted to my master's son and… well they modified it, so it would relate to the younger."

"I'm afraid to ask," Mookie held her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, "But…"

"Did they do stuff to you?" Nosedive finished, with a dark look on his face.

"Not at first." Angel hugged herself, "My mother bore the brunt of everything at first. One day our master got angry with her. I can't really remember why, all I know is that he beat her until she stopped breathing." Nosedive felt sick, from Angel's face, it was clear she had seen what she was telling them, and it still haunted her. "When he realised what he'd done he took me and told his other slaves to clean up. A few months later, he had gifted me to his son."

"If you were a slave," Mookie asked, "where'd you learn to fight?"

"To start with my mother trained me in secret." Angel shrugged, "After that I kept training in secret and watched Ikaru and his father train to learn more. After I escaped them, I found someone who could train me properly. When I had learned all, I could I took this ship and went to raise merry hell on the Plutarkians and to help anyone who needed it."

"How did you escape?" Molly asked.

"The boy I was gifted to was called Ikaru…"

"Ikaru?" Nosedive exclaimed recognising name from somewhere.

"That's right."

"So, it wasn't one of those stinky fish people?" Mookie asked also sure that she'd heard the name Ikaru from somewhere.

"No, it wasn't a Plutarkian." Angel brushed some hair behind her ear, "But they were allies to them. In fact, they were part of the reason Azmaria fell and my own kind. I don't know if they were the ones close to the Emperor and his family, but they certainly supported whoever it was."

"Traitors?" Dive asked.

"They were high standing and well thought of citizens of the Empire. Misaru, Ikaru's father used to brag all the time about how clueless our people were." Angel replied, "anyway, I was some kind of pet to them, Ikaru would lead me around with a collar and lead when I wasn't in my cell. As I grew he began looking at me strangely. I didn't understand it at first. Then one of the older slaves had let me know what they had planned." She took a steadying breath, "When he came of age, he would get to have his choice of slave for his… personal needs. Apparently, it was me that he had his stone-cold heart set on."

"Did he…?" Dive asked with a growl finding he was beginning to dislike this Ikaru more and more.

"I didn't give him the chance. I was so repulsed when the other slave told me what would happen and what I would have to do, that I was determined to escape before he could turn 18." She admitted, "I wish I had some elaborate story of how I escaped, but I just snuck out and stowed away on one of the regular supply ships that came to Kyoza's fortress before finding another ship to stow away on and getting the hell away from there. I pulled it off and even made it looked like I died in the attempt. The second ship I found was bound for a nearby planet and that's when I came across this ship, Moogie and their original owner. A man known as Kyoza. Another Amayan." She smiled fondly at the memory, "I thought for sure that this man would take me back. I was terrified when I was discovered lurking around his ship and even tried to fight him. But he told me I could stay if I wanted. It was him that trained me to be the warrior that I am now."

"What happened to him?" Mookie asked.

"He got old, gave me his ship and took a job with the GA." She shrugged, "They offered to train me up to be one of their agents too. But it was too restrictive for my tastes. That was a few years ago now and I've been making a name for myself ever since." She looked at them nervously. "I'm sorry for not being the person I pretended to be. I'm just a worthless slave."

"Bull!" Nosedive said angrily. All eyes turned on him, "You damn well are the space pirate Angel! You're the best fighter I've ever seen!"

"Yeah!" Mookie pipped up, "And no one worthless would help people the way you do." Mookie spotted Molly's huge yawn and got to her feet, "Come on squirt. It's still late and your mom would kill us if she thought you were up this late!"

"Okay." Molly replied tiredly, she grabbed Angel in a bear hug, "I like you Angel. Those mean people are the ones I hate, not you." She leaned back and beamed at the pirate. Angel smiled at the child gratefully. Moogie mewled at his owner.

"I'll be okay." Angel told him, "Go sleep with Molly." Moogie trotted after the two humans leaving just Nosedive and Angel alone in the room. Nosedive got up to leave too but a hand taking his stopped him. He looked down at Angel, who was still on her knees.

"Stay." She said with a visible flush across her cheeks. "I don't want to be alone." Nosedive sighed and pulled her to her feet. He sat her down and turned to grab some fresh bed clothes from her closet. When he found something similar to what she was already wearing, he tossed it to her and turned his back on her to let her change. He then made sure Angel was securely under the covers before sitting on the floor and leaning against the bed.

"You won't be alone Angel." He said as he leant his head back against the side of her bed and closed his eyes. Angel blinked at him. She had expected him to get into bed with her. She was sure that was what most men would do. She smiled before shifting onto her side. Her left arm reached down and wrapped around his chest. She felt him tense in surprise at the action, but when he rested his head on her arm and brought a hand up to hold it, she smiled and fell into a dreamless sleep. Her first dreamless sleep in a while.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27:**

 **Soooooo busy! Anywho I have finally completed, and proof read this to the point that I am happy with it. This is where I am starting to truly cross over with my New Blood story based on Biker mice from Mars. I certain things mentioned in this chapter won't necessarily be covered here. I may be writing some chapters for that fic to catch up with this one too, before I upload any further chapters.**

 **Thank you again to all those who are reading and enjoying my fic! Now, on with the story.**

Molly ran to the cockpit of the ship with a camera in her hands. She hastily turned on the communication device that would let her talk to her mother and waited for Wildwing and Jessica to pick up.

"Hey baby," her mother's smiling image showed on the screen with Wildwing looking over her shoulder, "You don't normally call this early."

"I had to show you something!" Molly told them urgently.

"Oh," Wildwing smiled at how excited Molly seemed to be, if he was honest he was impressed with how Molly was taking the whole situation, but this was just cute, "What do you want to show us princess?"

"Look!" Molly grinned and showed them the image she had taken with the alien camera she had been given to play with. Wildwing raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly at what he saw. There was Nosedive, leaning against a bed occupied by Angel. Nosedive was fast asleep with one of Angel's arms around him. One hand held her forearm, whilst his head rested on her upper arm.

"When did that happen?" Jessica asked, also smiling.

"Well, Angel woke us all up last night, cause she was having a really bad nightmare," Molly told them very quickly, "Nosedive was really worried and helped her wake up properly. Then he persuaded Angel to tell us why she was upset, and it was really sad. Then Mookie said it was late and you'd be cross if you knew I was up, so we went to bed. Only when we woke up I couldn't find Nosedive. So, I went to Angel's room to ask her if she had seen him and saw this. So, I took a picture for you, cause it was so cute!"

"Looks like Nosedive and Angel are getting along incredibly well." Jessica gave Wildwing a sideways glance to asses his reaction. Her fiancé was merely studying the picture still.

"Looks like I've got someone else to add to the worry list." He said dramatically with a sigh.

"Oh please!" Jessica elbowed him, "You wouldn't know what to do with yourself if you didn't have people to worry about."

"Mom?" Molly cocked her head to the side as she looked at her mother now that Jessica was standing sideways, "Why is your tummy bigger?" Jessica blanched and looked at Wildwing who just shrugged.

"Well sweetie…" Jessica looked to Wildwing for help.

"Your mom and I…" Wildwing started but wasn't sure how to finish.

"Are you having a baby?!" Molly squealed.

"How did…?" Jessica shook her head at her daughter who always surprised her. "Yes baby, you are going to be a big sister."

"Really?!" Molly jumped up and down in excitement.

"But we're not telling many people just yet." Jessica admitted.

"So, when you get home, you can't tell anyone unless we say so, okay princess?" Wildwing asked her.

"Awe, not even my friends at school?" Molly asked.

"Molly," Wildwing said sternly but not unkindly, "Your mom being pregnant with my baby, means she could be in danger."

"Bad people might want to take your little brother or sister." Jessica explained. "Our own people might even want to take them."

"Okay." Molly said with a frown, "Can I tell Nosedive and Mookie?" She added hopefully.

"Tell us what?" A tired looking Nosedive said from the doorway as he also took in the image of Jessica on the main screen, his eyes went wide. "Are you?" He aimed his question at Jessica. Jessica smiled and looked at his brother happily.

"You're going to be an uncle, little brother." Wildwing declared happily.

"Yeah, which means you need to get back before the birth," Jessica smirked, "Not to mention the wedding!"

"Yeah bro." Wildwing chuckled and held his fiancé closer, "I want you home to help out!"

"You mean to babysit so you two can still go out huh?" Nosedive laughed earning an eye roll from his brother. "Seriously though," He smiled, "Congrats guys. You'll make an amazing dad."

"So, Nosedive?" Jessica asked with an unreadable face, "I hear you slept with your new friend last night." Nosedive went bright red and shot an accusatory glare at Molly.

"I don't know what you mean!" Dive spluttered, "I mean I stayed in her room. She was upset after a night terror and she didn't want to be alone, but nothing happened!" Molly brought the image up on her camera again and confidently showed it to Nosedive who slapped his hand on his face and prayed to any deity listening that he could restart the day and not be the one to go fetch Molly for breakfast.

"Well you looked like you were being the perfect gent last night." Jessica told him with a teasing smirk.

"Yeah bro." Wildwing smiled, "I'm proud of you. Not only were you a real gentleman last night, but you've got your first girlfriend too." Wildwing tried not to laugh at Nosedive's look at his words but failed miserably. "You should see your face little brother!"

"We're just friends!" Nosedive protested, "We're not…"

"Someone's in denial." Jessica looked up at Wildwing, tutting as she did.

"Sad really." Wildwing continued to tease, shaking his head.

"Come on man!" Dive pleaded with his brother. "I mean, sure, she's pretty, and a bad ass when fighting…" Nosedive listed off.

"Dive!" Wildwing stopped him before he could list off anymore, "That's not convincing us. And you know we're only teasing, right?" Wildwing chose to file that particular reaction to memory and address it when his little brother had returned home.

"Yeah well," Nosedive pouted, "Molly I came to tell ya that breakfast is ready." He stalked off, no longer in the mood to discuss anything with his almost sister in law and older brother.

"You'd better go too princess." Wildwing told Molly, "Big sisters need to be big and strong to take care of their younger siblings. I should know, it's the same for brothers!" He gave her a wink.

"I love you Molly." Jessica said before Molly could sign off, "Be careful and make sure you do everything Dive, Angel or Mookie say, okay?"

"Yes mom." Molly rolled her eyes, "Love you!" Molly pressed the button to sign off and the screen went blank.

Captain Mimosa was an imposing woman. She had been a feared warrior within the imperial guard. Fighting fearlessly for her emperor and his empress. That was, until her Emperor had been betrayed and the Plutarkians had been assisted in destroying her planet and her people. She was now in a never-ending battle against the Plutarkians to try and prevent them from continuing the terror they wrought against many who didn't have the fire power to stand up to the fish like race. So here she was, on what was left of her home planet, walking through her only daughter's ship to discuss a mission to rescue prisoners of the Plutarkian race. Loved ones of her daughter's friends. She reached the communal room of the Orion and stopped in her tracks. It was like she was looking at a ghost. Before her was her beloved daughter surrounded by her friends. She had met all but one, although the rest were only recent acquaintances. It was the new comer and fellow Amayan who was creating the small lump in her throat.

"Mom!" Kimiya smiled when Mimosa was spotted. The aforementioned woman pulled herself together and walked in with her usual confident air. She studied the space pirate Angel out of the corner of her eye. The girl had Hissana's face and hair, had Kaoru's eyes. She looked smaller than she would have expected, and her eyes seemed duller than she would have liked to see in an Amayan warrior.

"Kimmie Cup." Mimosa nodded to her daughter with a smirk, knowing how much the nickname had irritated her daughter since she had passed the age of 12. "So, it's my understanding that the three we have been looking for are split between three facilities and, the one you are looking for," she indicated to Angel, "Is with one of our targets?"

"Right," Angel replied, "Tanya and Charlie are being held on Vlark. Modo is on Mongol and Throttle is on Plutark itself."

"Do they have any idea that we are coming for them?" Mimosa asked.

"If they do, this will make our job much harder." Mai admitted.

"We need to hit all three facilities at the same time." Angel said to no one in particular as her finger tapped the table between them all.

"I'm going after Charlie." Vincent demanded.

"I wanna go after Uncle Modo." Rimfire added quickly.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea." Mimosa looked at the pair apologetically.

"Oh yeah?" Vinnie said through gritted teeth, "And why is that." He added with a dangerous edge to his voice.

"Vlark is a research facility." Angel said as she brought up some schematics on the holographic device that doubled as the table. "It's very high security. Not only that, it's the closest moon to Plutark for a reason. It wouldn't take long for a sizeable force to be at the door to back up the Plutarkian forces already there." She studied the schematics carefully.

"So, you think I can't rescue my own girl?!" Vinnie slammed his fist on the table causing the holographic image to flicker. Angel looked up at him with a brow raised. Usually Mimosa would intervene in such a situation, but the older woman wished to see how this young girl dealt with such a person.

"Oh, you will rescue her just fine." Angel replied standing to her full, yet diminutive height and resting a hand on her hip, "But, Charlie isn't the only person being held there against her will. And I'm not just talking about Dive's friend Tanya either. Not to mention the other facilities we plan to hit."

"You intend to free all the slaves in that facility?" Mimosa asked, genuinely impressed.

"It's what I do. Besides, isn't that the point?" Angel asked as if it were the most obvious conclusion in the universe, "I mean," she looked around the room, "you weren't planning on leaving slaves behind? Were you?" The mice and Kimiya looked at each other before looking at her with slightly guilty expressions on their faces. This resulted in Angel's own expression darkening, "Charming." She muttered, "This is why I normally work alone." She added under her breath.

"Angel is right." Mimosa announced. "I would suggest that Angel be responsible for infiltrating and freeing the slaves on Vlark, as well as rescuing our two friends held there." She held up her hand to Vincent before the mouse could interject, "From what I understand she is quite adept at infiltrating facilities such as these. I will speak to Yurio at the GA about this. I think it might be best for the bulk of the slaves to be teleported straight out of the facility. We will need a safe place to teleport them to. And the GA will be able to deal with that number of refugees."

"It wouldn't take much for the Plutarkians to figure out where the slaves were sent." Kim pointed out, "The GA ready for the consequences of that."

"Yeah, we all know they're pretty risk shy." Mai added.

"They're getting better the bigger they get. Besides, I can deal with that." Angel shrugged, "I have plenty of viruses that can block the incoming and outgoing communications without damaging the transport module. Once everyone is out, Nosedive and I can set charges to blow the whole facility, focussing on the module before getting the hell out of there with Tanya and Charlie."

"Sounds like a plan." Kim nodded. Vincent merely grumbled in the back ground. "So how are we going to tackle the others?"

"I and my crew will tackle Mongol." Mimosa declared taking over from Angel and bringing up some separate schematics of the slave camps on Mongol, "There will be a much larger number of slaves to free on that planet, no doubt in varying conditions. One transport module will be enough for those held on Vlark, but we would never have the time to transport the sheer numbers held on Mongol." She paused "No, our best bet would be to load them all onto my ship and take them to the nearest GA outpost until we can all meet back up and your uncle," she indicated to Rimfire, "Can be returned to you."

"What if he's already…" Rimfire couldn't finish the question, still not keen on the idea of others rescuing their friends but beginning to think that their plans would be the best solution to their problem. Kim rubbed his arm before taking his hand in comfort and he smiled at her.

"I can't answer that." Mimosa replied in an apologetic tone, "But I will bring him back. If he has passed, then I will bring back his body for you to take home. That way you and your family can lay him to rest." The older woman could tell that the answer was not what the young mouse wanted to hear but it was the best she could do. She had learned long ago not to sugar coat things. If it all turned out to be the worst-case scenario, then it would only make it worse.

"So, we're off to Plutark itself then?" Vinnie wasn't really asking, and he still seemed angry that he would not be the one to rescue Charlie.

"So, do we know exactly where Throttle is yet?" Rimfire asked.

"According to the intel the GA gathered for me, he is being held at the private residence of the high chairman himself." Mimosa replied.

"Which means you're looking at the highest security the Plutarkians have at their disposal and a whole lot of guards and firepower." Angel frowned.

"So, what?" Vinnie growled, "We blast our way in, get to Throttle and blast our way back out!"

"Ugh! You Martian men are all the same!" Angel rolled her eyes and gave him a scathing look, "That kind of tactic makes getting in easy, but getting out incredibly difficult. Especially if your friend Throttle isn't able to fight for himself."

"She's right Vinnie." Maisey placed a hand on her brother's tense shoulder, "We don't know what state he's in. I wouldn't have been surprised if that stink fish has tortured him or something. We need to play this smart." Vincent shot an angry glare at his sister which soon softened.

"Okay," Kim watched as Angel brought up some schematics of Camembert's residence, "I'm guessing this intel wasn't able to let us know where in the facility he's being held?"

"I'm afraid not." Mimosa admitted.

"Damn." Kim stayed silent for several moments whilst everyone watched her think, "Mai, you and I will go in alone to locate where Throttle is being held. We can pull of the stealth almost as well as Angel." She looked up at the boys, "You two will be on standby. On our signal you guys can come in guns blazing and create enough of a diversion to allow us to get Throttle and anyone else being held in that hell hole."

"And if they're hurt? Throttle and anyone else unlucky enough to be in that place, could be immobile." Angel pointed out.

"Then we do what you plan to do." Kim shrugged, "We find a transport module, teleport them out, meet up with Vinnie and Rimfire, then get out of there ourselves. If we plan which outpost mom is going to end up I can teleport them there." She looked at Angel, "I might need to get one of those viruses from you." She winked, "Wouldn't do for them to follow anyone we rescue."

"I think I can manage that." Angel smirked.

"So, we get to blow stuff up whilst you pull off the rescue?" Vinnie looked away. "While normally I wouldn't complain about that, what if this all goes wrong?"

"Then we deal." Mai shrugged, "All the best plans need tweaking as they go along."

"We can calculate exact timings for the attacks tomorrow morning." Mimosa told them. "For now, I suggest that we all rest up and prepare ourselves for the battle to come." The occupants of the room simply nodded and began filing out of the room. Mimosa followed Angel out of the ship, activating her space shield as she did. She watched the girl approach her own ship. Her brow raised as a Psion jumped out of said ship and over to Angel who picked it up to scratch behind the ears. A small child was waving from inside the ship with an older human woman behind her. Angel had quickly entered her ship and disappeared, and Mimosa began walking towards her own ship. Before she could enter, she spotted an unusual alien exit Angel's ship and walk into the ruins of the city. She presumed this was the person Angel had called, Dive.

Nosedive looked up at the damaged painting before him. The image of the painting had been bugging him since he had first seen it and he had wanted to see it again. So, he had grabbed a space shield and made his way back to the ruins of the castle. Nosedive held the torn piece up again and stared at the people in the painting.

"The likeness is uncanny, isn't it?" Nosedive spun around and aimed his blaster at the intruder to his silence. Before him stood an older Amayan woman, dressed all in white. Her white hair was piled atop her head in a mess of hair. "The end days, as my people call them, were so chaotic. Even my bravest of warriors were taking their families and attempting to flee. I don't blame them either. It's what I did too." She sighed and stared up at the painting herself.

"Who?" Nosedive lowered his gun slightly but didn't put it away.

"I am called Mimosa," She replied, "I am…"

"Kim's mom?" Nosedive remembered the name having been mentioned and he lowered his gun completely.

"That's right." She nodded, "And you are the space pirate Angel's new companion that everyone is talking about." She smirked at his blush, "You see it don't you?" Mimosa changed the subject back to the painting. At his confused look she walked forward and lifted the torn piece back up to stare at the image of the woman with a pained look, "You see the resemblance." She looked back at him, "Between your friend and the people in this image."

"Yeah, but Angel said they died when the Plutarkians took over." Nosedive replied captivated by the woman in the painting the only real difference was that the woman had impossibly dark blue eyes. The male, on the other hand, had red eyes the same shade as Angel's. "Plus, she said she was born after. Off planet."

"My lady Hissana was pregnant when our planet was attacked." Mimosa told him sounding distant, as if caught in a memory. "We were friends, so of course she told me, but the pregnancy was not common knowledge. So, it is entirely possible that the girl you know as Angel is the last living child of my Empress Hisanna." Mimosa laughed bitterly, "I and the rest of my fellow leaders of the Imperial Guard had thought that we could deal with any form of attack. We were cocky and never once believed that we would be betrayed from within. Lady Hisanna and Lord Kaoru were beloved by our people. They ensured the less fortunate did not go hungry. Crime was dealt with quickly and fairly. We never once thought anyone would want to betray such beloved rulers. Least of all by Kaoru's own brother."

"Brother?!" Nosedive took a step back, "The Emperor's brother was the traitor?"

"Yes." Mimosa nodded. "I still don't know why. Perhaps I never will. I know that he had competed for Hisanna's affections at one time. But Lord Kaoru won Hisanna's affections and Misaru moved on to the Lady Akane. Regardless, when the full attack happened, Misaru led a small army of assassins and supporters against the palace itself, whilst the Plutarkians led a force against the masses. The Imperial guard and I did our best to hold them back and protect our Emperor and his family. The Emperor fought bravely as well. But as the tide began turning in favour of our enemy, Lord Kaoru ordered me and the other imperial guard to fetch our families and flee with them. I took my most trusted men and found my little Kimmie. Before we were able to even escape the palace, we heard cheering from our enemies and Misaru's wife, Akane announced that the royal family were dead, and any remaining guards should surrender to them or we would suffer the same fate. Of course, we ignored them and continued to flee, assisting any fellow Amayans and guard as we did." Mimosa let the ripped piece go and clenched her fists, "Had I known Hisanna was alive…"

"You don't know that Angel's mother was Hisanna." Nosedive tried to reassure her, "But… if she was then that means that Misaru creep killed Angel's dad?" Nosedive asked as if trying to make sense of the story. "His own brother?"

"Yes." Mimosa nodded, "And if I am right then it would appear that he took Hisanna with him instead of killing her, as is the most widely known story amongst our people." She turned to him, "Do you know anything of …" She couldn't finish the question, but Nosedive guessed what she wanted to know.

"Angel told me that she knew her mom for a while, but she hasn't told me much. I think it's too painful for her." He rubbed the back of his neck, "She did tell me that her mom was killed though, when she was little. Angel said her mom taught her some martial arts, then after her mom died, she trained, in secret to get good enough to escape her captors. Then she found some old dude who trained her to become good enough to fight on her own."

"So Hisanna was alive for at lease a few years after…" Mimosa growled, "And I did nothing to help her!"

"You didn't know." Nosedive offered, "In fact you still don't know, and I don't think she'd blame you if it was her!" Nosedive ran his hand through his hair, "So, who's the baby in the painting?" Dive asked, "It can't be Angel."

"No, it was one of their other children." Mimosa told him.

"Angel had siblings?" Dive asked sadly.

"Yes. Five, to be exact." Mimosa said with a bitter smile, "Three older brothers and two older sisters. That was their first child Kohaku. Angel would have been their youngest and my Lord and Lady loved children, so I have no doubt there may have been one or two more, had they lived."

"How long have you suspected that Angel…?" Nosedive looked at Mimosa curiously.

"I had my suspicions from the start." She admitted, "Hisanna and I were childhood friends, I could easily see the resemblance. But, I had never met Angel in person and, while purple hair is rare in our race, it still happens. So, she could just as easily have been a girl who did just that, resembled my old friend. But when I arrived and discussed the rescue plans with her and the others…." She paused to take a steadying breath, "It was like hearing my childhood friend once more." Mimosa turned to look at him, "May I ask something of you?"

"I guess." Nosedive said realising he still had his weapon in his hand and finally putting it away. He proceeded to lean against a crumbling wall.

"Will you watch over her?" Mimosa asked.

"I'm pretty sure she can watch over herself." Dive shrugged, "But I'm not letting her just take off after all this either." He looked away, embarrassed, "She doesn't deserve to spend her life alone."

"You care for her." Mimosa smiled as Nosedive looked up at her like an animal caught in headlights, "That's good. Hisanna would want her child to have real friends around her." She sighed, "If she's anything like her mother she will appreciate that more than anyone who might try to befriend her for her looks or for who she should have been."

"If she's a princess then she's got no business being w... I mean, being friends with me." Nosedive said a little dejectedly. Mimosa didn't miss the slip and smiled kindly at him.

"The empire fell before she was even born. If she were to choose to claim her birth right, this would be all she would have to her name," Mimosa indicated the land around them, "A dead land that doesn't even have air that can be safely inhaled anymore. And a people scattered to the stars or crumbling bones beneath our feet." She gave him an amused look, "I don't intend to broadcast that our princess is alive. After all, her mother's pregnancy hadn't even been announced to the public. So, my people aren't even likely to believe such a fantastical story. But Misaru likely knows she is alive, and I doubt he is very pleased that she escaped. Given that he allowed her birth and kept her alive, I suspect that he had something planned for her."

"He gave her to his son." Nosedive said with clenched fists.

"I see." Mimosa sighed, "Then there will always be the possibility that Misaru or Ikaru will one day come to find her. They may not realise that Angel is the child who escaped them. But that doesn't mean they won't figure it out eventually. So, I want to ask you to stay by her side."

"I'll watch her back." Nosedive nodded taking one last look at the damaged painting before turning to leave. "I'll do everything I can to keep her alive."

"Thank you." Mimosa said to his retreating form.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28:**

 **First things first, I have an apology to make. I had wanted to get this chapter up during October so that you get at least one chapter a month. Unfortunately, my grandfather had a serious stroke and consequently passed away two weeks later. I went to see him every day at the hospital, and I have been in a dark place. I miss my grandad terribly. If it weren't for him and my granny on that side of the family, I honestly wouldn't be here. His funeral is tomorrow, and I want to get this up tonight whilst I am thinking straight enough to read over this properly and make sure there aren't any hideous errors.**

 **Again, I'm sorry to have not uploaded sooner and thank you for your patience. Xxx**

 **Anywho, on with the story!**

Wildwing grumbled to himself as he made his way through the sewers to get as close to the building he was planning to infiltrate as possible. Canard was currently with the others arguing with the police about how they were going to help handle the situation. Canard was helping so much, that he was bellowing at the gunman who was talking to the negotiators. He had tried to get him to back off and let the authorities handle the situation, but Canard had pulled rank and told him to hold his beak. Wildwing could see the situation was going to go south very quickly if something wasn't done, and soon. So, he had slipped away and that's how he found his way into the sewers. Of course, he had a little help.

"There should be a manhole cover coming up on your left." Jessica told him over his comm. "Are you sure you should be doing this?"

"Jess there's kids in there!" Wildwing snapped still angry at his friend and not really meaning to take it out on Jessica.

"I know Wildwing, I'm just worried about you." Jessica replied, not expecting an answer from her stressed out fiancé. Wildwing could hear the tapping of a keyboard over his com unit. "Okay, I've managed to hack into the store's security system and I'm getting the feed, it's not the best but I can see most of what's going on. There aren't any gunmen by the door that will be next to you when you get out. But there is someone keeping look out on a higher level. So, for Pete's sake be careful."

"With you watching my back? I'll be just fine, babe." Wildwing smirked at the growl he received.

"So glad you can joke about this." She responded. Wildwing chuckled and pulled himself out of the manhole and pushed himself against the side of the building, right next to the door Jessica had informed him about.

"I'm going in." Wildwing told her quietly. He kicked in the door and aimed his wrist blaster into the room before him. He moved through the room to the hallway. "Where are the hostages?"

"The majority are being held on that floor." Jessica told him, "Four armed men guarding them. Head down the hallway last room. There are two more on the upper levels on the same floor as the guy Canard is helpfully pissing off." He could hear the sneer through the comm unit and could tell Jessica was just as unimpressed with Canard's behaviour as he was. "A woman and a boy. 10 to 13 maybe? I can't tell from this image, he's young though." Wildwing nodded.

"I'll deal with the ones on this floor first. Then deal with the upper levels." Wildwing told her.

"What's your plan?" Jessica asked.

"Simple." Wildwing replied, "I take out the bad guys one at a time."

"That doesn't confirm how you're actually…" Jessica paused, clearly watching him move closer to the enemy, "What are you doing?!" Wildwing ignored her as he took a quarter out of his pocket and tossed it at the door before ducking back into another doorway. One of the gunmen came slowly out of the room, a semi-automatic assault rifle held at the ready. _"Where do they even get these guns from?"_ Wildwing thought to himself as the man approached. Wildwing held his breath as he allowed the gunman to walk parallel with the doorway before kicking the gun out of the gunman's hands then grabbing him around the neck. One hand was placed firmly over the gunman's mouth as Wildwing got the man in a choke hold. It was mere moments before his opponent was out cold. Wildwing pulled him further into the room he was in and tied him up. He looked up at the sound of a door opening again. He quickly made his way back over to the doorway of the room and peered through the crack in the door by the hinges. Another smaller male was approaching with a second larger male in tow. Both armed and dangerous. A stun puck took out one and a hard punch to the gut took out the other. Both were soon secured next to their friend. That left the last one.

Wildwing snuck across to the door, behind which the majority of the hostages were being held. He listened from his side of the door. He could hear quiet whimpering, and someone was pacing.

"Are the hostages between me and the other gunman?" Wildwing asked almost too quiet for Jessica to hear him.

"No," she replied equally as quiet, "He's close to the door. Looks like he's deciding whether to go looking for his play mates or not."

"How close is he to the door?" Wildwing asked.

"He's getting closer." Jessica told him. "Wing, he's aiming the gun at the door!" Wildwing leapt to one side as bullets pierced through the wooden door. When they stopped he activated his ice shield, before kicking down the door and charging the last assailant on that floor. He was thankful that the hostages were huddled in the corner to the left. The stray bullets were less likely to hit them where they were positioned. The gunman's weapon jammed and Wildwing took the opportunity to lunge for him and land a hard punch to his jaw. The gunman crumpled to the ground and was soon bound as well. He turned just as the hostages were getting up and heading to the front door to escape.

"No!" He stopped them in their tracks, "The gunmen upstairs have a clear shot if you go that way. You and the two upstairs will all be killed."

"So, what do we do." Asked one man who looked ready to cry.

"Follow me." Wildwing waved them to him, "You get out the way I got in." He raised his comm to speak to Jessica, "Jess, I want you to get onto Cleghorn and tell him where to meet these people. I'll get upstairs and try to get the last two out. Unharmed, if I can."

"On it." Jessica replied. Wildwing nodded and showed the hostages where to go. Once they were all safely in the sewers and had been given detailed instructions of how far to go and where to return to the surface, Wildwing returned to the building. He found a flight of stairs and made his way up. "Okay Cleghorn has been informed and he's sent a team to meet the hostages."

"Where am I going?" Wildwing asked her.

"Third floor. Head left when you get out of the stairwell then it's the fourth door on the right." Jessica informed him. "You know I'm kind of curious as to how you guys pulled all this stuff off before, well… you know?" She hoped he understood that she was talking about getting things done without the help she was giving him.

"The mask." Wildwing replied a little distracted with ensuring that he wasn't caught off guard by anyone.

"You know, I'm kind of with Duke on this one." Jessica told him, "You'd be better with that thing than Canard."

"Now isn't really the time to be discussing this." Wildwing pointed out with a frown.

"Yeah well, you wouldn't need me to help if you had that fancy mask on your face. Although I have to admit I prefer seeing your face more." Jessica pointed out, "And you're lucky hacking a simple store security system is within my capabilities."

"Guess I'm lucky those convention nerds rubbed off on you too, huh?" Wildwing smirked.

"For that you are not getting any sugar tonight." Jessica grumbled. Wildwing merely sniggered at her childish behaviour.

"Jess, I need to know where everyone is." Wildwing told got back to business as he was approaching the hostages. As he pressed his back against the wall beside the door to the offending room he waited for her to let him know what he needed to know.

"Loud mouth is still by the window." She told him. The two hostages are behind a table, which is behind him to the right of him. There's one guy by the door and another right by the hostages." Wildwing frowned. This wasn't going to be as easy as the gunmen downstairs.

"One is right behind the door, right?" Wildwing asked to clarify.

"Yeah." Jessica replied, "He's practically leaning on it."

"And there's one other between me and the hostages. Then a table between them and the one talking?"

"Yep."

"Okay." Wildwing moved his head from one side to the other to stretch the muscles in his neck. He kicked the door down hard and made sure to instantly put his full weight on the door before taking aim and firing at the gunman by the woman and child, both of whom began screaming. The second downed he dodged several shots from the one by the window. "Shit." He grunted as a stray bullet tore through the skin on his firing arm. He leapt further into the room and, wrapping his arms securely around the woman and child he rolled the screaming pair further away from danger before activating his ice shield and holding it in front of all three of them as the gunman by the window kept firing. The one who had been behind the door had got up as well and began taking aim.

"Wildwing!" Jessica called over the noise, "Wildwing you have to get out of there! Canard he's…" Wildwing looked up as something flew through the window and clattered to the floor. He barely had time to gasp as the puck grenade blew.

"Wildwing?!" Said duck could just about hear over the ringing in his ears. "Wing are you okay?" He heard again. He didn't really trust himself to answer in that moment and grunted as his arms were threatening to give way to what was left of the roof. "Answer me!" Jessica's panicked voice made up his mind for him.

"I'm okay." He said through gritted teeth, "But I need help, fast!"

"I'm trying to raise Canard, but he won't pick up!" Jessica sounded close to tears.

"Call Cleghorn!" Wildwing whimpered as more pressure was being put on his pinned leg. "And tell him to hurry. I don't know how much longer I can hold this!" Jessica wasted no time in contacting the police captain and informing him of Wildwing's current situation.

Outside Cleghorn stormed over to Canard and the other ducks, making a mental note of the fact that the other ducks also seemed to none too pleased at their current leader.

"You make a habit of burying your teammates?" Cleghorn had snapped then turned to the fire crews, "We got people trapped in there!" He glared at Canard, "You birds have tracking devices in your communicators, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Canard said stubbornly.

"Because your pal Wildwing, is currently buried beneath all that mess and we're working on borrowed time to get him and the last hostages out before they all kick the bucket!" Cleghorn snapped.

"We can…" Canard started, trying to regain control of the situation. He had thought that all the hostages were out and that Wildwing would have left with them.

"Before or after that building collapses on him completely?" Cleghorn pointed out, "Besides, I think you've done enough!"

"Why I…" Canard growled but Mallory grabbed his arm. Her look was unreadable and all she did was shake her head at him. Cleghorn looked up at Grin.

"You might be useful though." He declared, "Just how strong are you, big guy?"

"I am but a pebble." Grin said as he stared at the building, "But even pebbles can move a mountain with the right motivation." A screech of tyres caught their attention and only a moment later Jessica could be heard arguing with one of the officers manning the police cordon.

"Let her through!" Cleghorn called. Jessica stuck her chin out at the officer who had been trying to stop her and walked past him with a death glare in his direction. Her bump clearly visible, earning several raised eyebrows from the police officers who knew who she was.

"What the hell are you doing here!" Canard snapped, he felt Mallory pinch his arm and he glared down at the red head who shook her head angrily.

"Making sure that you don't actually kill my fiancé!" Jessica growled. "He's trapped in the rubble on the third floor. He says his foot is pinned and he's struggling to hold the piece of roof that fell on them!"

"Them?" Canard frowned.

"Yes them!" Jessica threw her hands up in the air in exasperation, "Which you would have known had you bothered to either wait for Wildwing to give you the all clear or had you checked with that mask of yours!"

"There were more hostages?" Canard paled slightly.

"Two to be exact!" Jessica growled, "And Wildwing was about to get them out before you decided to just blow up the bad guys!" She cried out in frustration, "I mean, what were you thinking!"

"I…" Canard was at a loss for words.

"All right, you heard the lady!" Cleghorn bellowed, "If we could borrow you." Cleghorn nodded to Grin. "Not you!" He snapped at Jessica as she attempted to follow after them, "I do not need another civilian wondering around in a building, especially in that condition, and you can keep back too!" He pointed to Canard, "You've done enough!" Canard clenched his fists and looked away.

"I'll go with them." Mallory offered.

"You, I can cope with." Cleghorn said with a dirty look at Canard. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked in the direction of the damaged building.

"Please don't drop it." The little boy begged from behind him. Wildwing grunted as he tried to shift into a better position, but the floor beneath them groaned menacingly.

"Oh god," The woman said through tears, "I don't want to die. I don't want my baby to die!" She held her son close.

"You won't." Wing grunted. That was when he heard someone on the other side of the rubble, "Over here! Help!" He cried as loudly as he could. He got a mouthful of dust for his troubles and coughed until his lungs burned. Part of him wondered if he should be worried that he could no longer feel his leg, mostly he was concentrating on making sure his arms didn't give way. Things began shifting and the floor creaked the entire time. Wildwing had to hope that the floor beneath them didn't give out. He wasn't sure they would survive another fall like that.

"Wildwing?!" He heard Mallory call.

"Mallory!" He called back, "We're here!" The largest part of the roof was lifted away to reveal, Grin, Mallory and Cleghorn flanked by some firefighters and a couple of EMTs. Grin went to move the last piece that was trapping Wildwing's leg but as he lifted Wildwing's eyes went wide and the white mallard let out a blood curdling scream. Grin immediately stopped and allowed Mallory to take a look.

"It looks like a steel reinforcement bar has gone straight through his leg!" Mallory cringed at the bloody mess that was Wildwing's leg. She helped the woman and child up and passed them off to the EMTs before returning to see how they were going to help Wildwing.

"Will the duck be okay mom?" The boy could be heard asking.

"I hope so sweetie." She replied as they were led away with nothing more than a few nasty cuts and bruises to be treated.

"We're going to need to cut the bar from the concrete." One of the fire crew told them. "We remove it here and he could bleed out before we can help him."

"I'll get the cutter." Another of the fire crew said before disappearing. Wildwing groaned and leant his head back. Mallory sat behind him and allowed him to use her as support.

"Jess is going to kill me." Wildwing said quietly.

"She's more likely to kill Canard first." Mallory chuckled bitterly, "I might just help her!"

"Canard took the shot, didn't he?" Wing asked.

"Yeah." Mallory told him. "I wish I could say I told him not too, but I didn't. I have no idea what he was thinking!"

"Why'd he…?" Wing was trying to take his mind off the pain that had made itself known since Grin tried to move the rubble pinning his leg.

"Shoot the explosive puck?" Mallory sighed, "When he heard the hostages were in protective custody, we figured you were close behind. The leader had stopped shouting demands from the window, but he was taking pot shots at anyone close by. Canard lost his temper and just took the shot." She shrugged. "I would have done the same if he hadn't beaten me to it." She placed a hand on Wing's shoulder, "We honestly thought you'd just released all the hostages and were clear of the danger."

"Canard didn't think to contact me or check with the mask?" Wing growled asking virtually the same question that Jessica had outside. Before Mallory could even try to form a response, the fire crew had the cutter and were asking Grin to pull the concrete up a little so that they could get to the bar. Wildwing cried out again, but he was able to control it more this time. Mallory wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held him down as best her small frame could. One of the fire crew held a shield like piece of sheeting between Wildwing and the cutter to protect the mallard's face from the sparks as they worked. After nearly 10 minutes they were finally able to move the rubble away from Wing's leg. An EMT fixed a tourniquet around the bar to secure it in place, letting the ducks know that any movement could increase the loss of blood. Wildwing was carefully carried out of the building and was greeted with cheers from the public who had already learned of how he had protected the mother and child.

"Wildwing!" Jessica ran over and hugged him as carefully as possible. "You said you were okay!"

"I thought I was." Wildwing replied and took her hand as he was placed on a gurney and was wheeled towards a waiting ambulance. "Thanks for the assist in there."

"I wasn't about to let you go in alone!" She snapped.

"Where is Canard." Both Jessica and Mallory looked around to see if they could spot the tan Mallard, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Forget about him for now." Jessica said with a shrug, "We need to get you to Alex!"

"Where have you been?" Mallory asked as Canard finally appeared back at the pond. It was 2 in the morning and it was clear that her boyfriend had been drinking and was still three sheets to the wind.

"Out." Canard slurred sounding far too much like Duke for her liking.

"I can see that." Mallory growled. "Aren't you going to ask if your best friend is okay?"

"Is he…?" Canard suddenly looked worried. "Of course, he's okay! He's the guy who can do no wrong and can lead my team better than I ever will!"

"He's not okay!" Mallory snapped, "And the way you've been behaving since Tanya got taken is making me think Duke might be right. This may be your team Canard, but there's something going on with you and unless you let someone help you, you aren't capable of leading this team."

"He's not okay." The tan mallard sat down heavily on the sofa.

"A building fell on him Canard. Of course, he's not okay!" Mallory rubbed her temples. Canard got to his feet again and stumbled to towards the infirmary. "So, help me Canard, if you wake him!" She stormed over just as Canard entered the room and froze. There on one of the medical cots Was Wildwing. His leg was heavily bandaged and was elevated slightly. Jessica was asleep at his side. She sat on a chair and was leaning against the bed, snoring slightly. Canard could see some ugly bruises appearing beneath his friend's pure white feathers.

"I didn't mean…. I never wanted…" He clenched his fists and pulled the mask off his face. He stared at it for some time.

"One of the supporting cables from the building went straight through his leg." Mallory informed him when the silence became too much for her. "It's all patched up, but it will be a week or two before he can get around by himself. Let alone get back on the ice."

"I don't want it anymore." Canard muttered. Four months ago, Mallory would have argued with him, tried to reassure him that he was the better leader and should continue to lead. But now she wasn't so sure. She watched as Canard placed the mask quietly on the table beside Wildwing and left the room. "I understand if you don't want me anymore." He said to Mallory.

"Pft." Mallory rolled her eyes, "I may be pissed at you, but I still love you, you damn idiot." She shook her head at him then walked towards him. She wrapped her arms around his right and led him back to their room, "Come on tough guy, you stink. Time for a shower and to sleep off whatever you've been drinking." She led him to their room and helped him strip before turning on the shower for him. She changed into her night gown and almost jumped as damp arms wrapped around her from behind. "You're all wet Canard." She moaned as he sucked on her neck, "At least…" She allowed him to push her down on to the bed and pull her night gown up, so he could lick her stomach. "dry off…" She gasped as his tongue licked the inside of her thigh. She could already feel herself reacting to him. He pulled away with a strange look on his face. "What… what's wrong?"

"I don't deserve you." Canard said looking away. Mallory snorted as she sat up. She pulled the night gown the rest of the way off so that she sat before him naked and vulnerable. She moved forwards on her knees and sat on his lap, a coy look on her face. Without a word she began sucking at his neck as her hands rubbed up and down his sides. She moved her hips back and forward against his crotch earning a groan and a reaction. With a slight lift she pushed herself down and before long, both were moving in unison with each other.

 **I hope you like this one, I hope to be uploading another one soon. Again, I'm so sorry this didn't go up sooner. xxx**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29:**

 **Hi All, another apology! So, 4 weeks after my grandad died, my work informed my entire office that they were closing said office and making us all redundant. As you can imagine this was not particularly well timed given the recent bereavement. As a result, I have been in a really bad place to the point where I have been self-harming again and having dark thoughts again. This is something I have struggled with on and off for some time and I have been to the doctors about it. I have had a medication change and have found a new job, which I start tomorrow, so I am hoping that this will improve my mood!**

 **I have written several more chapters on top of this one. However, I am not entirely happy with where they have ended up, so I am going back through them and adjusting them a little. Particularly the pacing. I will get these up soon, but I do need to finish an assignment for my distant learning degree so that will take precedent.**

 **Anywho, now you know my current life story! On with the story you actually came here to read! Thank you for sticking with me! 3**

"You sure you remember everything?" Angel asked Mookie as she and Nosedive prepared to leave the ship.

"This doohicky steers the ship," Mookie smirked as she pointed to the controls, "This button starts it and those fire the weapons." She paused then said before Angel could reply, "And that raises the shields!" She gave her friend a wicked smirk.

"No need to be a smart ass." Angel rolled her eyes but smiled none the less.

"Relax Angel." Dive placed a hand on Mookie's shoulder, "Mookie's got it covered! Right Mookie?"

"Duh!" Mookie grinned wider, "I was born for this!" She added with a cheer.

"As soon as we leave…" Angel started pointedly.

"I raise the shields and open the comms to make sure you can get hold of me easily if you guys need a pick up to go!" Mookie saluted.

"You promise you're going to be okay?" Molly asked from the doorway to the cockpit. She was cuddling a stuffed mouse like toy Nosedive had bought her when they had visited a neutral space port a few weeks before. He had insisted on stopping to get her something as it had been her birthday and he was feeling guilty that he had yet to get her home to her mother to celebrate.

"We'll be fine squirt." Dive winked, although he wasn't all that convinced himself.

"You don't need to be here Molly." Angel told the young girl gently, "Why don't you go down to the lower decks and pick something to watch?"

"Can Moogie come with me?" Molly asked hopefully. Angel blinked at the child then looked at her pet. The cat mewled at her and hoped onto Molly's head, making Molly giggle.

"All right." Angel sighed, she had wanted Moogie with her, but her pet seemed to have other ideas. Angel had to admit that he always did like kids. "Moogie, you make sure she stays put." Angel spoke to her animal and it yowled back at her, seeming to understand every word before licking his paws.

"You ready?" Nosedive asked as he checked his blasters were ready to fire.

"Let's go play hero!" Angel winked with a devilish smile.

"Be careful guys!" Mookie said with a note of real worry in her tone.

"Relax girly girl!" Dive winked at his friend, "We'll kick butt and be back before you know it." With that the pair left the ship.

"You'd better." Mookie muttered as she watched Molly leave for the rec room with Moogie. With a sigh she activated the shields and the communications array and sat down to wait for their signal notifying her that she was needed, or for them to return with Tanya and Charlie.

"Get off me stink fish!" Charlie yelled as she was roughly pulled towards her cell. She knew what was coming and she was not about to let it happen to her, at least not without a fight. She was thrown to the ground. Charlie managed to roll then get her feet underneath her before leaping at the attacker. With one hard punch the guard was stumbling back as he held his nose, his gun clattering to the floor. Charlie took her chance to grab the gun and aimed it at the guard. "Your key card!" She demanded, "Now!" The guard scowled but threw his card in her direction. She crouched down, whilst trying to keep her eyes on him the whole time. Charlie only looked away for a split second as she went to pick up the card, and the guard was on her. She yelped in shock and tried to prevent the gun being wrestled away from her, to no avail. The guard managed to roughly pull the gun away and hit the butt of the gun across her forehead. She fell to the floor in a daze and felt the beginnings of blood trickle from the bump that she could already feel forming.

"Pathetic human scum!" The guard bellowed and grabbed her by the collar. Charlie whimpered and tried to push the feeling of nausea from her mind as she was thrown around the room. A hard kick to the stomach had her wheezing and she barely registered the fact that the guard was tearing at her clothes shouting something about a lesson. Then it stopped. She blinked and squinted at the guard who had gone very stiff as he stood up. Charlie could see someone standing behind the Plutarkian. The figure had blonde hair and a creamy colour to their skin, although she wasn't sure it was skin, she was at the wrong angle to determine what his skin consisted of. At least not until the guard moved.

"Back away from the lady, creep!" A young sounding male voice demanded. The guard gulped and stood, before slowly backing to her right and standing towards the back of the room. She could see him now and Charlie blinked. She recognised him as one of the Mighty Ducks, one of Tanya's friends. "You okay?" He asked, moving between her and her attacker, keeping his blaster aimed at the Plutarkian the whole time. "Charlie, right?" She nodded, then became aware that her chest was exposed curtesy of the Plutarkian glaring at them. She went bright red and covered herself as best she could with one arm as she tried to recover what was left of her shirt. The blonde duck gave her a look of sympathy and turned his head out of respect before stalking over to her attacker. "Sweet dreams creep." He scowled before punching the Plutarkian hard. Once the duck was sure the guard was out cold, he put his gun away and reached into a pack on his back, pulling out a small blanket. "I'm Nosedive. Vinnie wanted to come too, but they needed him to help with rescuing your friend Throttle." He passed Charlie the blanket, which she took gingerly, he turned away again to allow her to sort herself out.

"Thanks." She said quietly once she had wrapped the blanket around her and tied two corners at her left shoulder and the other two at her waist on the right. "I'm decent." She said when she realised the youngest of the mighty ducks must have been waiting for her to cover herself up. He turned with a relieved smile and walked over to her, he frowned when he took in the wound on her forehead.

"Here," He pulled a smaller pack off his belt, "Let me patch that up. At least till we get back to the ship." Charlie stood still as he pulled out a few things. The blonde duck gently cleaned the wound with some wipes, then sprayed it before placing a dressing on it. "That should hold. But…" An explosion rocked the building, "Crap!" Nosedive scowled and looked at his gauntlet before pressing a button, "Little early don't ya think girly-girl?"

"All the best plans are made to be tweaked." Angel told him over the comm link, not sounding amused.

"I haven't even set all the slaves loose yet!" Dive rolled his eyes.

"They've already figured out that someone has infiltrated the facility, genius." Angel informed him, "So I figured I'd distract them a little to give you more time. Keep them off your tail feathers till you can lead the prisoners to the transport room we chose."

"Okay then. I'll give you a shout as soon as we're there and I've got that thing up and running." Dive said pulling his blaster out once more. He turned to Charlie, "I don't suppose you know where Tanya is do you?" Charlie smiled at him.

Tanya had been in her cell and had heard the ruckus in the cell next door. As she heard her friend being attacked, she had curled up in the farthest corner and began rocking back and forth, trying desperately to control her breathing. She kept telling herself that there was nothing she could do to help. At the same time her mind betrayed her by telling her that; at least it wasn't her. It made her hate herself even more than usual and she was struggling to deal with the tide of emotions rushing through her, currently fragile mind. Then she had heard something that had made her breath catch in her throat for several moments. If only to try and hear the sound again, she had got to her feet and headed towards the sound of the familiar voice talking to Charlie. Part of her didn't dare believe what she was hearing, but she had spent the better part of 5 years living with the younger Flashblade and the rest of her team. They were family now and there was no mistaking the voice she heard. And still she doubted herself. She leant against the cold metallic door and listened, terrified that it had just been her imagination playing tricks on her. She barely registered when the door started opening and she fell into a warm body. Looking up she saw the worried blue eyes of Nosedive and took a step back in surprise. There was a pregnant moment of silence as she stared at him in shock, Charlie just behind him to his right, before her face crumpled and she flung her arms around the younger's shoulders and sobbed into his neck.

"Sorry it took me so long Tauny." Nosedive whispered as he rubbed her back soothingly. "But I'm here now and I'm gonna get you out of here and all of us home." Tanya looked up with confusion clearly shown on her features, "It's a long story Tanya, and I don't really have time to talk about it right now. We gotta get you and the other prisoners out of here before the guards come looking." Tanya simply nodded. Dive gave her a worried look, not missing the fact that Tanya had yet to utter a word to him, but he would worry about that when she and Charlie were safe on Angel's ship. He turned to Charlie, "Do you know if this is the only cell block?"

"Pretty much." Charlie replied receiving a nod in response.

"Okay," Dive took Tanya's hand in his free hand, "Keep close to me ladies." He led them to the farthest end of the block where there was a control panel. Angel had described these panels to him in great detail and had also shown him what to do with them. He pushed the women with him back for a moment as some guards rushed past the other side of the door by the panel, then he pulled a wire from his left gauntlet. Attaching it to the panel, he typed in a few commands before the cell doors behind them could all be heard unlocking. The first few prisoners walked out of said cells gingerly and looked at the trio by the doors with uncertainty all over their faces. "You need to pass this back, if anyone can understand me and know that some might not then, try to help them understand." He waited till the prisoners fell silent, "I'm here to get you out of here. You need to follow me, and I am going to lead you to a transport module where I'm going to send you all to a galactic alliance space port. From there, you're going to be taken care of by the GA and, if it's safe for you to go home, they'll help you get home too." He counted maybe thirty or forty prisoners and was glad it was a relatively small group. The numbers in the slave camps on Puckworld were huge in most cases and it would have made things difficult. "Try to stick close and keep an eye out for the guards." There was a murmur from the small crowd, but they appeared to both understand and seemed on board with him helping them. Nosedive noticed that Charlie was looking after Tanya for him and was grateful for it.

Nosedive nodded and turned back to the console. With a few more commands, the main door was sliding open and the group was led down to the left, away from where the guards had been heading. Nosedive kept glancing at his wrist every now and again and Charlie's curiosity got the better of her.

"What is that thing? Some sort of utility gauntlet, like Batman or something?" She placed a hand on his shoulder to get a better look.

"Something like that." He shrugged, "They're concussion gauntlets, so they pack a wallop when I activate and hit anything with them. But there's also a small computer and comm unit built in. Right now, I got it programmed to show me where all the guards are. That's the green dots." He held up the gauntlet and sure enough there were several green dots showing towards the east of the building's diagram. Another explosion was heard and the people behind him murmured in worry. He glanced back at them in concern, but they didn't seem about to do anything stupid, so he didn't address them, "My friend Angel is keeping them busy, but as soon as we've got to the transporter, I'm gonna give her a signal. She's going to make her way over and put a virus in their systems to make sure they can't follow anyone, or even know where they're going."

"The space pirate Angel?" One of the prisoners asked behind him with a hopeful tone. Dive turned and saw it was a younger cat like creature. She had a mottled colouring to her tawny coat and a nasty scar over her face that looked to have been created by claws.

"That's her!" He winked to the cat with a smile.

"Then we're saved!" She squealed. "She's a hero!" She turned to her fellow prisoner beside her, "The stink fish are terrified of her! I just know she'll make sure we're safe!" Nosedive smiled at her. He was glad that just knowing Angel was here, was helping this girl cope with what was happening.

"Here we are!" Nosedive declared as her reached the room they needed. They entered the relatively small room and he went to try and activate the module.

"I can work these things." Charlie told him with a smile. He stood to one side and allowed her to get it up and running, only assisting to enter the coordinates from his wrist pad. Once the first 10 had been successfully transported away to safety he activated his communicator.

"Angel, we're good to go, where are you?" He waited for a few moments for her to reply and frowned, "Angel?"

"On my way!" Angel called over the comm. "Just be ready for a fight. There's more Plutarkians here than I anticipated and we may need to rethink our escape plans!" Dive's frown deepened but didn't say anything, well aware that he could panic the now freed prisoners into doing something stupid like running from the transport room. Instead he walked over to Tanya. "You okay?" She looked up at him and shook her head before looking away. "You haven't said a word since I found you." He paused to see if she would say anything. "You're worrying me Tauny." She looked up at him again and he tried not to frown at her as she began to tear up again.

"She struggles to speak now." Charlie said quietly as she monitored the transport module. Nosedive looked from human to duck with a worried glance. "She's got progressively worse since I've met her."

"Awe Tauny." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. "You're safe now girl." He rubbed her arm then looked up at the sound of a body hitting the wall outside the room they were in. A moment later Angel rushed in and made sure the door was locked behind her.

"We almost there?" She asked sounding a little breathless for a change, "Because there are a lot of bad guys and as good as I am, I am still only one pirate!"

"Last batch about to be transported now." Charlie replied.

"Wait!" The cat girl from earlier cried. She ran over to Angel and hugged the purple haired girl, "Thank you!" She stood back a little, Angel stiffened in surprise, "Thank you for coming for us!" She nodded to Charlie and joined the rest of her fellow prisoners in the transport module. With a flash they were gone, and Dive looked to Angel.

"You get a lot of that?" He asked.

"Sometimes." She shrugged, "I suppose she might not be as grateful, if she knew I was only really here for these two." She nodded her head in the direction of the two remaining prisoners.

"Says the girl who argued with everybody to ensure that all the prisoners would be set free?" Dive pointed out with a twinkle in his eye that Tanya didn't miss.

"I'd be an ass if I didn't." She shrugged, but there was another slight flush to her cheeks, although she did wonder who had told him about that discussion on Mimosa's ship. A large bang from the door indicated that the Plutarkians were trying to break through. Angel turned to stare at the door for a few moments and narrowed her eyes. She brought her wrist pad up and typed in a few commands. "Shit." She walked over to the transport controls and began typing.

"What are you doing?" Charlie asked.

"We won't get out that way and anything strong enough to blast through those walls will blow us away as well. So, we're going to have to teleport out of the facility and rendezvous with the ship on the move." She turned to Nosedive. "I've already transmitted some coordinates to Mookie. Make sure she knows she's going to have to pick us up while in movement." Dive nodded and did what was asked. "You two had better take these." Angel handed the two rescued women some bracelets. "They're pretty old, but they still work and will allow you to survive the atmosphere out there."

"Thank you." Charlie nodded as she took hers and placed it on her right wrist. Tanya did the same and allowed Angel to activate the space shield. Charlie copied what Angel had done and her shield was up. Angel then activated her own shield just as Nosedive joined them, his shield up and running already.

"Get in." Angel ordered just as the door lurched on its hinges menacingly. Angel typed more into the console and things started to go haywire. She rushed into the module with her three companions and tossed a throwing blade at the console. Just as the doors were blown off their hinges the glass shield slammed down and there was a flash of light. One moment they were still in the facility and then they were outside. "Go, go, go!" Angel encouraged, pulling out her blades. Nosedive pulled the older women with him, one in each hand, as they rushed towards the coordinates that they were to meet with Mookie and the ship.

Tanya spotted the red ship ahead of them and the tech head in her wanted to stare in wonder, but then she heard the approaching forces behind them. A quick glance over her shoulder and she regretted looking instantly. Behind them were quickly approaching vehicles, from regular dune buggies to tanks and armoured robots. Now that she had looked, she couldn't take her eyes off them and she stumbled. Nosedive helped her up as she stared at the approaching force in terror. Then she spotted Angel staring at them too. The diminutive girl frowned before looking over her shoulder at her companions.

"Get them to the ship." Angel ordered. A split second later, she was rushing head long into the fray. Tanya's beak dropped as the diminutive girl who had been accompanying Nosedive suddenly charged the enemy like lightening and fearlessly attacked the large force, alone.

"Charlie," Nosedive steered Tanya into the red head's arms, "Take Tanya and get on that ship." He passed her one of his blasters. "This packs more of a punch that that thing." He pointed to the Plutarkian rifle still hanging over Charlie's shoulder by the strap, "Ditch the other and use this. Do not look back and don't worry about us."

"No..No…. Nose…" Tanya grabbed his arm looking at him terrified.

"I am not gonna let her go into fights like this alone anymore Tauny." He said quietly, "She's been training me. So, I'll be fine. Trust me." She nodded but it was clear she still wasn't sure. Nosedive slammed his fists together and his gauntlets came to life with power. He rushed in the same direction as Angel and followed her into battle. He almost scared himself with his fighting. Before his training with Angel he would rely on his weapons, agility and speed more than his fighting ability. Now the only weapons he used were his gauntlets, at least in this fight. He was fast before, but the new skills Angel had taught him not only made him faster, it made him almost deadly. He knew it would be years before he would ever be at Angel's level, if he ever made it to that level at all. But he was liking the way this new ability made him feel. He no longer felt like the little brother that needed to be protected and watched out for. He could take care of himself now. If his brother needed it, he could even protect Wildwing.

"Watch your back blondie!" Angel yelled as she spun in the air and slashed a robot in two before landing behind him. Nosedive nodded to her. They fought side by side, taking down enemy after enemy before Angel yelled again, "They're safe in the ship. We stay any longer we risk being overwhelmed." Dive nodded in response. The pair dashed away from the fray and towards the ship. As they did so, Angel pulled out a grenade and tossed it behind her to keep a robot at bay that got too close. It did the trick and acted as a barricade to several of the others. "Mookie, EMP blast! Now!" Angel yelled into her wrist com. Several moments later, the there was an odd sound from the direction of the ship and all of the Plutarkian tech behind them immediately stopped working. Angel and Nosedive grinned at each other as they jumped onto the ramp of the ship and rushed inside.

"Let's get you guys to the med bay." Nosedive panted a little as he deactivated his gauntlets.

"I'll go take over from Mookie and get us out of here." Angel declared, "You need me to send her down to help?"

"Nah, I can handle it." Dive smiled, and they parted ways.

"Nosedive!" Molly squealed as she peeked out of one of the rooms. She ran over to Nosedive and the blonde duck picked her up and cuddled her.

"Hey squirt!" He smiled.

"Molly?" Charlie asked in disbelief. The red head stepped forward as the girl looked up at the woman.

"Auntie Charlie?" Molly cocked her head. "What are you doing here?"

"You two know each other?" Nosedive placed molly back down and watched her run to the human woman.

"I should probably introduce myself properly," Charlie smiled at him, "I'm Charlene Davidson. I'm from Chicago and went to school with a woman known as Jessica Fury, I think you might know her." Charlie grinned, "I believe she's is dating your brother. Last I checked." She smirked at the blonde's surprised look. She looked down at Molly when her pants leg was tugged.

"Can we all go home now?" Molly asked. Charlie and the other adults smiled at her.

"Soon Squirt." Nosedive assured her. "We'll get everyone home soon." He looked up to the two rescued women, "Lets get you two cleaned up first." Nosedive led them down the hall to the med bay and asked them to sit down on the two beds in the room. He activated the medical equipment and left it to work on scanning them as he went to find the pair a set of clean clothes that would fit them until they could stop somewhere to purchase them something.

"Come on Molly." He heard Mookie from the hallway, "It's pretty late and you look shattered. Why don't we leave them to rest and we can come see them again in the morning?"

"Okay." Molly replied as Nosedive rounded the corner and walked into the room. "Mookie says I should go to bed." She pouted when she saw him.

"Well it is late, and you know you get grumpy when you're tired." He replied with a smirk, which only grew at her huff of annoyance.

"Come on you!" Mookie chuckled and held out her hand. Molly stared at the hand as if offended and walked past them towards her room. Mookie and Nosedive shook their heads in amusement.

"Night." Molly said as she left.

"Night sweetie." Charlie called. Nosedive passed the fresh set of clothes to both women and set to work cleaning some of the wounds that needed attending to. A quick check of the computer and he typed in the commands to fill a couple of medicine guns with something for the infections the computer had picked up. He administered the medicine and sat in the chair by the doorway to keep an eye on the women, but mostly Tanya. Not long after the women fell asleep, Nosedive drifted off in the same chair.

 **I hope this tides you guys over till I'm happy with the next few chapters! Hopefully this year will be a bit less stressful! Happy new year! 3**


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30:**

Nosedive grunted in his sleep loud enough that it woke him up. He rubbed his sore neck and blinked as he looked around. Close to the computer console, Sat Angel, quietly dressing some of the cuts that she had earned from their earlier battle, whilst sitting on a chair to the left of a slumbering Charlie. With a sigh, Dive got to his feet and silently made his way over, unaware that a certain blonde female duck had already been watching the young girl with half lidded eyes. Those same eyes now watched him. Angel looked up as he got close.

"I'm fine, they're just a few scrapes." She said quietly.

"I've heard that before." Nosedive snorted. He gently took the gauze that Angel had been using to clean her 'scrapes' and took over for her.

"You don't have to do this alone anymore." He said after a while with a small frown across his features. "You know that, don't you?" He looked up at her and tried to catch her eyes, but she wasn't meeting his gaze, no doubt on purpose. Angel stayed silent but leant forward as Dive was treating a nasty cut on her side that reached around to her back. Her head rested on his shoulder as he worked.

Tanya watched on curiously her young teammate tensed momentarily when Angel had rested on him in such an intimate manner, but he didn't appear to mind. Tanya felt a little guilty, as if she were trespassing on a private moment. She watched Nosedive bring his spare hand around to the back of Angel's head. He too leant forward and embraced her.

"Nosedive?" Angel asked, suddenly sounding every bit her young age.

"Yeah babe?" Dive asked coming back to his senses and getting back to work, immediately missing the warmth of the embrace.

"When I get you home…" out of the corner of his eye, Nosedive could see that she was biting her lip, something he had never seen her do before. He looked at her curiously.

"What is it Angel?" He prompted.

"Will you still want me around?" She looked away with a furious blush on her cheeks. Nosedive looked more than a little shocked at the question and, after a few moments, he laughed.

"Now who's the goof?" He chuckled not missing the pout that he had caused.

"That doesn't answer my question." She looked towards the door and Nosedive recognised it as one of her unconscious ways of planning an escape when she was uncomfortable. Nosedive ran his free hand through his hair and sighed heavily.

"What do you want?" He asked seriously, "I mean you can go back to it being just you and Moogie wandering around in space, playing hero whenever you come across someone who needs help." Angel looked up at him and he gave her a small smile.

"Or?" She asked with an unreadable look.

"Or you could stick with me and not have to fight alone anymore." He shrugged, "Earth can be boring. But you won't be alone, and you'll have me and all the team watching your back."

"You think they would mind?" Angel was biting her lip again and she began wringing her hands. Nosedive frowned again. He put down the gauze and shifted his position before placing his hands on hers to stop the nervous movements.

"Why would they mind Angel?" He asked, genuinely wanting to know what was upsetting her so much.

"I'm a pirate Dive!" She hissed so as not to wake up the two rescued women sleeping in the nearby beds. "I'm not exactly the wholesome hero like in those stories you and Mookie are always telling me about. Not to mention all the stories about you and your friends!" She went to pull away and leave but Nosedive held onto her hands.

"Bull!" Nosedive said a little too loudly and looked over to the slumbering women in the beds behind him. He missed Tanya closing her eyes quickly. Nosedive turned back to Angel with a frustrated look, "You know for someone so smart and talented you can be such an idiot you know!" He shook his head before pulling her into a hug, "Stop putting yourself down. The guys'll love you." He pulled away with one of his smirks, "besides, they only took about a year to stop being weird around Duke and he was a genuine criminal." His smirk turned into a grin as Angel looked up at him in surprise, "They'll get over themselves with you in six months, tops!"

"Goof." Angel rolled her eyes, but she felt much better.

"How long till we get to that base?" Nosedive asked clearing up the first aid gear.

"Another hour or so." Angel replied, "Mookie has taken over monitoring our trajectory again for a while, so I could sort myself out." She chuckled, "Apparently its gross to bleed all over the ship."

"Sounds about right." Dive sniggered. "Maybe you should try and get some sleep." Dive suggested.

"It would take me that long to just drop off." Angel shrugged, "I may as well stay up now and get something ready for everyone to eat or something. Mookie will let us know if the sensors pick up any enemy ships."

"I can make something, you look ready to drop babe."

"I'm fine." Angel almost pouted.

"No, you're not!" Dive rolled his eyes. Angel gave him a look that stopped him from arguing with her any more.

"I'm going to go make something for everyone to eat when everyone is awake." She said again before walking out of the room briskly.

Tanya watched as Nosedive also left the room, shaking his head a little as he did so.

"I don't want the damn thing!" Wilding snapped as he limped to the rink office.

"Face it Wing! You're a better leader for this team than I will ever be, and I should never have taken this stupid mask back in the first place!" Canard stated as he held the inactive technical hockey mask out to his white feathered friend.

"Not that I'm disagreeing with you Canard," Wildwing said through gritted teeth, "But I never wanted to be a leader in the first place. Why would I want all that responsibility back now?"

"Because you're the only one who is going to get this team home alive and, mostly in one piece!" Canard argued.

"You can't know that Canard." Wildwing shook his head as he sat down heavily at what was once Phil's desk. He pulled a file from the left-hand side of the desk and started to look through the information in the file.

"Wing!" Canard slammed his hands onto the desk to get his friend to look up at him, when it worked, he continued, "You were here, what… five years? And in that time, the team had nothing more that a few bumps and bruises and maybe a couple of broken bones? I'm here five minutes and you've been regularly injured, badly! I nearly get Nosedive killed. Most of the team has been kidnapped to the point that two are somewhere across the galaxy with your, soon to be step daughter. And Duke has lost his damn arm!" the tanned mallard took a few steadying breaths, "So tell me why I should continue leading this team."

"Eaves dropping is rude you know." Mallory jumped from her spot just around the corner from the office. Out of site, but close enough to hear her lover and Wildwing's argument.

"Just making sure it doesn't get out of hand." Mallory shrugged, not even convincing herself with her explanation.

"Sure." Jessica snorted, "So how long do you think they're going to argue about this?" The blonde subconsciously placed a hand on her stomach, whilst the other rested on the wall as she peered around the corner.

"No idea." Mallory shrugged.

"Who do you want leading your team?" Jessica asked her curiously.

"If you'd have asked me before Tanya was taken and everything went to hell?" she sighed, "I would have said Canard. "He put this team together. He found us all and risked his life to find that old relic."

"And now?" Jessica pushed.

"Canard was a military school recruit." Mallory shrugged, "He's perfect for a military unit. One of the better leaders, compared to some of the creeps I've had to follow. But he and I are the only military trained ducks on the team and it shows. Wildwing may not have the military training, but he has better people skills and he's good at thinking of plans on the fly. Not to mention that he's able to adapt his style of leadership to suit the person he's leading. The military is all uniformed. You stick to a plan and any contingencies are planned in advance and switched to if the original plan becomes defunct. Wildwing doesn't work like that. His plans adapt immediately to the situation. Canard can't do that very well and he can let his insecurities and anger get the better of him. Wildwing can do that too, but when he becomes insecure, he doesn't lose his temper."

"Wildwing just mopes." Jessica nodded. "Nosedive told me what he can be like. I wasn't really around when he was leader, but I know he's pretty hard on himself, so I can imagine what he was like."

"What do you think?" Mal turned to the blonde human.

"Me?" Jess paused to consider what she was going to say, "I've already lost Molly's father to military action. Way I see it, as leader Wildwing becomes more of a target. I agree with you that he makes the better leader. The others respect and trust him more. Why wouldn't they? You guys have been through so much together. But it still means he would be targeted more just because he's your leader. So, a selfish part of me wants him to not take up the leadership role again."

"What happens if he does?" Mallory asked her with her head slightly cocked to one side, "You ever mention this to him?"

"Of course not." Jess wrapped her arms around herself, "He was your leader before he ever met me. Besides, another part of me realises that a poor leader could get him killed juts as easily as simply seeing him lead."

"You're scared he's gonna get killed. Aren't you?" Mallory gave her a sympathetic look.

"Aren't you just as scared for Canard?" Jess turned the question back on the red head.

"I guess." Mallory shrugged, "But at the end of the day, I grew up in a military family. So, I've learned not to think about the what ifs. At least when it comes to things like that." She looked up at Jessica, "Wing's way too smart to get himself killed just like that, you know. And none of us are about to let anything like that happen to him without a fight. We're not about to let anything happen to him period without a fight."

"I know." Jess sighed. "Doesn't stop me worrying though. And with this," She rubbed her expanding belly, "I can't do as much to help when you guys are in trouble. Not that I could do much before, but now I'm more of a liability."

"You even want to help?" Mallory asked, "I mean beyond using the puck blasters?"

"When Eric died, I was completely useless to him. I didn't even know where in the world he was. Let alone how to help him." She rubbed the back of her neck to try and release the tension there, "At least I always know where you guys are and it's not exactly hard to track you all down using Drake One. I'm not sure if that makes it better or worse."

"What are you two up to?" Canard asked as he rounded the corner and came across the two women. Neither woman missed that the tan feathered mallard was no longer holding the mask.

"Just talking." Mallory shrugged without missing a beat. Jessica didn't say anything, but she also didn't give anything away either.

"Right." Canard eyed both women before him before turning to Mallory, "I wanna go to the equipment store and pick up some new skates."

"I'll go with you." Mallory told him, knowing him well enough to know that's why he told her. "See you later Jess." Jessica nodded and watched the pair leave before making her way to the office.

"You know I can do that." Jessica told Wilding who was looking at something on the computer screen.

"You said you were tired." He shrugged, "Besides, I don't mind."

"You're supposed to be resting that leg of yours." Jess pointed out.

"Do I look like I'm walking around to you." He winked at her with one of his devilish grins that she found so endearing.

"You still had to walk to this office smart ass." Jessica shook her head. "How are the finances looking?" She asked to change the subject.

"Not great." Wildwing shrugged, "We're making enough money to keep the team going and the junior team…"

"Are you sure Grin's okay coaching them whilst I'm… You know?" Jessica indicated to her growing bump.

"He's fine Jess!" Wildwing rolled his eyes, they had already discussed it many times over and he had to try very hard not to lose his temper with her. "Besides, he likes kids and I don't want a stray puck or an over enthusiastic kid slamming into you. Alex keeps telling you…"

"This is an unusual pregnancy and any small thing could cause an issue," Jessica held a finger to the air as she quoted her medically trained twin, "so you are to take it easy, no working out, no over exerting yourself and absolutely no hockey!" She growled, "I know Wildwing." Wildwing looked at his fiancé with sympathy.

"Why don't we go out tonight and see a movie or something?" He suggested, knowing full well Jessica was simply bored.

"What if we get attacked?" Jessica said in a defeated voice.

"I think I can handle it." Wildwing shrugged, fully intending to ask one of the others to be close by, just in case, "Besides, we haven't done anything where its just us in forever and you need a break from all this nightmare." Jessica smiled at him.

"That would be nice." She replied.

"They'll contact us soon Jess." He limped over to her and pulled her into a hug. "You'll see."

"It's been nearly a month with no word." Jessica buried her head into his chest. "What if they're…What if something's happened?"

"Jess, remember their last call? They warned us that they couldn't risk getting hold of us whilst they're in Plutarkian territory." Wildwing soothed. "I'm worried too, but we have to trust that Nosedive and their new friend will keep everyone safe and bring them and Tanya home." Wildwing held Jessica close as she held onto him like a lifeline. Truth be told he was every bit as worried as Jessica was, but he wasn't about to let on to Jessica about it.

"I know." She leaned into his warmth and closed her eyes tightly, "That doesn't make it any easier."

Tanya made her way through the halls of the ship she found herself on. She was fascinated despite herself. The ship was far beyond anything that they had on Puckworld. She yearned to examine every bit of technology at her disposal. To pick Nosedive's young companion's brain in relation to how she came about the tech and how she knew how to use the technology and if Angel would fix things when they were broken or if she sought help. The only issue was that she didn't dare speak. Her stuttering was so bad now that she could barely get a word out. She had hoped that being among friends would help, but to no avail. It has been embarrassing enough before she had been kidnapped and she would struggle with the odd word, often changing it for another simpler word when her brain and her beak refused to match and comply.

"Lost?" Tanya jumped at the voice behind her. She hadn't heard anyone approach and when she turned around, she found Angel. The blond tech found her mind wandering if this girl could give Duke a run for his money when it came to sneaking up on people. Tanya realised that the purple haired girl was awaiting a response.

"N…n…" Tanya looked away with an evident blush under her pale feathers.

"Well, I've made some food for you all." Angel smiled at her. Tanya was grateful that Angel didn't bring up her stutter. "I know the Plutarkians don't feed their…guests well. So, I've made a lot of plain things for you and Charlie." Angel told her as she led Tanya to the kitchen. Angel sat Tanya down and went to one of the counters where she filled a bowl with a broth of some kind and passed it to Taya with a spoon. "Eat slowly." Angel said gently. Tanya nodded and took a few mouthfuls. Her eyes closed in joy at the taste of real food in her mouth and ultimately her stomach. She took two more spoonful's in quick succession, "Slow down Tanya." Angel said quietly as she sat down with something that looked like toast and began nibbling at her own food.

"Th… Than… Ugh!" Tanya threw the spoon down in frustration.

"Why are you so cross about that?" Angel asked calmly resulting in Tanya looking up at her in surprise. "I mean, its not unusual for someone who's been what you've been through to have issues with their speech." Angel studied Tanya as the woman eating looked more embarrassed than before, "I'm sorry!" Angel said quickly, "I'm not very good at this, am I?" Angel rubbed the back of her neck.

"It..It's..Okay." Tanya smiled at her small achievement, despite herself. Angel smiled back at her. "Whe…where's N…No…"

"Nosedive?" Angel asked as she finished what she was eating and placed her plate in what Tanya assumed must be a dish washer. "I think he's in my training room working on his katas." At Tanya's confused look, Angel felt she should probably expand on what she had said, "I've been training him. He wanted to be a better fighter. So, I've been helping with that." Tanya stared at the girl before her in true shock. Angel chuckled, "You don't believe me, do you?" Angel stood up and walked over to a monitor. With a few buttons pressed, the screen came to life and Tanya saw a room that wouldn't have looked out of place in a martial arts movie. Within said room was Nosedive, shirtless and performing some complicated movements. A sheen of sweat covered his feathers and he moved with a grace she had never seen him posses before. Tanya could peel her eyes away from the scene as Nosedive moved across the room, dancing with imaginary opponents. To Tanya and the rest of the team, Nosedive had always been the baby. The one to be protected. The member of the team that was there to remind them to laugh. But, while the mallard on the screen looked like the young adult she had left on Earth when she was kidnapped, he no longer moved like him. "He's picking it up pretty quickly. I'm almost jealous actually." Angel laughed, finally pulling Tanya's attention away from the screen to look back at the purple haired girl, "He's picked up some of it way quicker than I did when I tried to learn some of the stuff I'm teaching him." She rubbed the back of her neck. "I didn't really have anyone to teach me though so maybe I have an excuse!" She laughed.

"He ne…nev…" Tanya took a deep breath and calmed her mind, "He never listened to M…Mal.." Tanya growled at herself.

"Really?" Angel looked at the screen in confusion. "He listens to me." Tanya looked at Angel and laughed. "What?!" Tanya shook her head and looked back at the screen where Nosedive appeared to be stretching and was soon leaving the room with a towel around his neck and a water bottle in his hand. "He'll take a shower and then head here for something to eat. We're almost to the rendezvous point where we'll meet back up with Charlie's friends." Tanya nodded as she made her way back over to the food that Angel had made her, hoping it wasn't cold as yet.

"Th…Thank…Y..You." Tanya stuttered as she stirred her food. "F..For Sa…Sav…"

"No thanks needed." Angel winked when Tanya looked up. "It's what I do."

"You Li…Like No…Nos…Um, Dive?" Tanya took a breath, "Don't you." She inwardly cheered at the lack of stuttering. When Angel didn't answer, Tanya looked up at her to see that Angel had tensed somewhat.

"Of course, I like Nosedive!" Angel turned suddenly, speaking much louder than she needed to, "He's my friend and a gifted fighter and…" Angel looked around the room as if trying to find something, "Oh is that the time?" She began edging towards the door, "I'd better go check that the autopilot hasn't fritzed and sent us off course!" By the time Angel had finished she was by the door and with a swift movement, the girl was gone.

"You okay Angel?" Tanya heard Mookie ask from the hallway before the odd human rounded the corner into the kitchen herself. Tanya smiled at the human and chuckled in response to Angel's reaction.

 **Well there's another one! I've got my mock assignment for the first module finished, still have the second module and a mock assignment to submit for that whilst the other is being marked. The aim is to get both modules finished and final assignments submitted in the next couple of months, so I have the summer free to really work on this (and some cosplay and much needed gaming!) before starting the next and final level of my course! I will be so happy when I have finished my courses! No more studying for a long time after that!**

 **Anywho I hope you enjoyed. I know where I want to go next. I just have to figure out how to get there! So hopefully I will get another chapter or two out around the course work, my job and the cosplays I need to get ready for the cosplay season! It's another year of me making legend of Zelda cosplays! I am such a glutton for punishment!**

 **Thank you for reading! Toodles! 3**


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31:**

Nosedive wandered through the public hallways of the GA space port he found himself on. Mimosa's rescue party had already been and gone with all of the rescued slaves, leaving Rimfire's uncle, Modo behind. He had spoken to the woman about why they were leaving so quickly and had been told that they were going to assist in getting the GA to offer Mars and possibly Earth assistance against the Plutarkians. The other party had yet to show up, but they weren't able to find out why so all they could do was wait, for now at least. Angel had contacted her friends at the GA headquarters and asked them to let them know if they got any intel about the missing Orion and her current crew. Mimosa had also been contacted and had told them that her daughter would not be defeated so easily, and they must have merely been held up for some reason. She didn't appear to be worried. They had already been on the port for a couple of days now and he was getting bored. There was no entertainment, just somewhere to eat, a parts shop and a refuelling service. That was it. He had attempted to find Angel to spar but had found her helping Tanya by teaching the woman to meditate. Angel had assured the blonde duck, that meditation could help with her nerves and possibly her speech issue. He didn't have the heart to interrupt them so instead he decided to go for a walk. A walk that had him doing three circuits of the station already passing the parts shop each time.

"Seriously kid!" Nosedive stopped by the entrance to the parts store and looked to the guy leaning against the entrance, "That's at least twice I've seen you wonder past! Ain't you got nothin' betta ta do?" The alien with midnight blue skin and jet-black orbs for eyes asked him with a smirk.

"Wish I did man!" Nosedive chuckled. There was a crash from inside the store and, what Nosedive presumed was swearing in an alien language. "Problems?" Dive sniggered as the blue alien looked behind him lazily.

"We got ourselves a Martian bike in there and it ain't too pleased about the boss wanting it for parts!" The alien told him. Nosedive's interest was piqued. He had seen the Martian bikes that Vinnie and the other mice had. He had heard what they were capable of too. He moved closer and peered over the blue alien's shoulder with blatant curiosity. Sure, enough there was a light blue racer style bike in the back of the store that appeared to be trying to hide from another dark blue alien.

"Why would you want to use a sweet bike like that for parts?!" Nosedive asked as he stared at the bike in awe.

"Martian bikes are extremely rare in these parts," The alien by the door shrugged, "This one's owner was killed in a fire fight and the bike is pretty feisty. We could sell it as it is if we thought anyone would be able to cope with the AI. But that thing is bordering on psychotic!"

"They really have AI chips in them?" Dive unconsciously stepped closer to the bike that was sending the odd low-level laser shot at the other alien within the shop.

"Yeah, they're frinkin' nuts!" The first alien told him.

"I give up!" The second alien came over. "I'm this close ta jettisonin' the thing out of the nearest space hatch!"

"Can I try?" Nosedive asked, still looking at the bike that reminded him of a scared animal. The two aliens looked at him then at each other with a shrug.

"Tell ya what kid," The second spoke up, "If you can get that thing ta calm down and listen to ya. You're welcome to tha thing!" Nosedive go the impression that neither alien had any doubts that he would fail, but Dive didn't care. He wanted something to do and this was a challenge he'd be more than happy to take up. After all, the bike looked pretty fast and he did like a fast ride. He walked closer to the bike that backed into the wall.

"You don't have to worry about me." He said casually as he sat on a large box to the left of the bike. "I'm just bored and need something to do." He looked at the bike, "So those guys say you've got artificial intelligence." The bike beeped at him and he tried to hide his smile, "They also said you lost your owner." Another beep, a lower tone this time. Nosedive was startled when the bike projected an image on the floor of a mouse who was clearly deceased. "Sorry man. That's harsh." Nosedive looked over at the aliens who seemed to have grown bored and had found something else to do. Since they were no longer watching him; "You know, those guys over there, said that if I could get you to listen and do what I said, they'd let me have you. You're an awesome looking bike and I know I'm not a mouse or anything, but I can promise you I won't use you for parts." The bike beeped at him again. "Deal?" The bike revved its engines and moved the short distance between it and nosedive so that the bike was as close to Dive as possible without knocking the duck over. "Hey guys!" He called over the aliens, "Looks like I made a new friend!" He smirked at their surprised looks.

"Psh!" The first alien snorted, "We meant it had to let you ride it!" The alien raised his eyebrows in an obvious challenge and Nosedive looked at the bike.

"Well, whaddya say?" Dive asked the bike. The bike revved its engines again and beeped at him in an excited manner. The blonde mallard grinned and straddled the bike he could feel the powerful engine purring beneath him as he sat on the vehicle. He picked his feet off the ground and the bike did a short circuit of the garage like room before coming to a stop in front of the aliens who had challenged Nosedive. "Gotta say guys, I won't be bored now!" He winked at them.

"You think we were serious?" The second alien asked him menacingly while the first held his arm out.

"Just take it." The first alien told Nosedive.

"What?!" Said the second.

"You said it yourself, that thing is more trouble than its worth!" Said the first, "If the punk thinks he can handle it, then let him take the thing!" The second grumbled but said no more. "Just get out of here punk." The first nodded his head in the direction of the exit and the hanger where all the space ships were docked. Nosedive smiled and wheeled his new bike out of the parts shop and towards the ship. As he neared the entrance to Hanger 48, where Angel's ship was docked.

"Vinnie!" He and the bike stopped as they entered the hanger only to see a streak of red hair run towards a familiar white furred mouse. The human flung herself into the mouse's arms and kissed him deeply. "What took you so long, you big lug?" He heard her add more quietly.

"Sorry babe." Vincent replied, "I wanted to come for you myself but…" Nosedive quietly made his way to the ship with the new bike only to come across a very tall grey furred mouse talking with Kimiya and Maisie.

"Where'd you find that?!" Kim asked.

"The parts shop." Nosedive shrugged as the bike purred at him like some sort of cat, "They were struggling with it and told me if I could get it to do what I wanted I could just take it."

"Not every day a Martian hoss latches on to anyone other than a mouse." The tall grey mouse said.

"I got that impression when they made the challenge." Dive snorted. Modo laughed with him and clapped Dive's shoulder.

"Well, if you're anything like the man described to me by that little lady runnin' around over there." Modo inclined his head towards Molly who was speaking with Rimfire who, in turn looked thoroughly amused. Modo sighed and turned his head to look at his younger bro who was still clinging to Charlie as if she would disappear if he let go. "I don't know what I would have done if Charlie hadn't survived this mess." Modo said looking towards his human friend that was holding onto Vinnie for dear life in return. "Thank you for saving Charlie for us."

"No thanks needed!" Nosedive replied as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, "I mean, she was in the same place my teammate was being held so we would have come across her even if we hadn't bumped into your friends and family. Plus, I wouldn't have been able to do anything if it weren't for Angel."

"Yeah, well," Kim shook her head, "you and Angel still pulled it off. My mom managed to rescue a fair deal of slaves from Mongul. But we only managed to free one old Amayan woman."

"Angel seems to like the old bat though!" Maisie chuckled. "They're in the kitchen talking about something or other with your friend Tanya." Maisie indicated to the red ship behind her. Nosedive just nodded.

"What about your other friend? Throttle, was it?" Dive asked.

"He's safe." Maisie replied but something told the blonde mallard that something wasn't right.

"He's in a pretty bad way." Kim explained sadly. "When we found him, that old woman we mentioned, was trying to treat his wounds after a nasty beating."

"If it weren't for her, he'd be…" Modo clenched both flesh and mechanical fist as his eye began to glow a menacing red.

"He'll be okay." Maisie said quietly. "He has to be. He's Throttle." The female mouse furrowed her brow. "Excuse me." Maisie quickly left the hanger.

"Is she okay?" Dive asked.

"Maisie has always been fond of Throttle." Modo explained, "Even as a little kid, she wouldn't leave him alone. She'll be fine when Throttle is all fixed up."

"When Charlie puts Vinnie down, you should ask her to give that new bike of yours the once over." Kim told him.

"Yeah," Modo smiled, "She's the best mechanic in the galaxy, she'll make that little beauty purr like it's brand new!"

"Thanks, I will." Nosedive smiled as he took his bike to the hanger.

Jessica was finding it increasingly more difficult to do certain things around her ever growing belly. But she was determined that the lobby Christmas tree at the pond was going to look as good as she could get it. She wasn't particularly religious, none of her family were really, but she enjoyed the festive season for the message it gave to the world. Whether you are religious or not, she always thought the message of generosity, love and caring was something everybody could learn from, whether they believed in some all-seeing power or not. Her family were the same and so they had celebrated the festive season. Jessica wouldn't subject the ducks to decorations down in the living quarters for at least another few weeks, but she was going to make sure that the public got a nice display. There was a small army of workmen and women putting up decorations around the hallways so all she had to do was the tree.

"Should you be doin' that alone?" Jessica inclined her head to the side to see Duke approaching.

"I'm pregnant, not sick!" Jessica grumped, "Besides, they were making a hash of it!"

"You like this holiday then?" Duke snorted.

"Maybe a little." Jessica winked as she leaned to put a bauble on a higher branch. The ladder wobbled, and Duke moved forward, before placing a foot on the bottom rung of the ladder with a shake of his head. "Thanks." She said sheepishly. "Don't suppose you want to try and get the star on the top? My bump keeps getting in the way." She grinned as she waved the star at him. Duke chuckled and took it with his remaining hand. Placing the star in his beak he carefully made his way up the ladder, trusting that Jessica was bracing the ladder for him. Once at the top, he reached out and easily put the star in place. He studied it for a few moments to decide whether the star was straight and secure, then he carefully made his way down the ladder again.

"Thanks Duke." Jessica smiled as she stepped back to let him off the ladder.

"Any time sweetheart." Duke replied, "At least I'm useful for somethin'."

"They'll figure out how to make that arm work." Jessica rubbed the older man's shoulder, "And when Tanya gets back, she'll make sure that it works batter than the one you…"

"Jessica Margaret Fury!" Jessica paled and turned in the direction of the main doors where She and Duke saw two women approaching. One was an older woman who was Jessica's built, although not as tall, had silver hair and walked with a confidence that made Duke sure that it was Jessica's mother. Just behind was a younger woman who looked to be around Nosedive's age. She had straw coloured hair that was as frizzy as Jessica's hair was straight. She was also shorter and stockier than Jessica.

"What are you two doing here?!" Jessica squeaked.

"You keep promising you would come to visit and introduce your fiancé!" Lizzie Fury snapped, "I got tired of your excuses and of waiting!" Duke raised a brow at the very English accent and made a mental note to ask how Jessica's parents met at some point in the near future.

"Hi!" The younger of the two women waved at Duke with a grin, "I'm Cassie! You're Duke right? I'm not really into hockey or anything, but I have checked out a few of your old games since I found out my sister was marrying one of you guys!"

"Duke," Jessica said in a suffering tone, "This is my mother Elizabeth Fury, and my sister who has already introduced herself."

"Please call me Lizzie." The older Fury replied. "I assume there will be room for us to stay here for our stay?"

"Mom!" Cassie and Jessica scolded.

"We discussed this before we left!" Cassie groaned. "Dad said we were to book into a hotel close by!"

"What rot!" Lizzie rolled her eyes, "I want to get to know my new son in law and staying in a hotel isn't going to help me do that! There is room I suppose!"

"Of course, there is Lizzie." Duke put on his best smile and held out his arm to indicate that he would show them where to go. As he began leading Lizzie away Cassie and Jessica looked at each other before trotting after them.

"So, do I need to beat up Alex for not letting me know you guys were on your way." Jessica growled.

"We didn't tell him" Lizzie admitted. "Mom wanted to make sure you were off guard." Cassie laughed. "Dad and I tried to convince her to let you know we were coming but she thought you might have chance to prepare Wildwing too much!" Cassie burst out laughing at Jessica's mortified look. "And that look makes it all worth it!"

"Do I want to know what's going on?" Canard asked as he and Mallory appeared behind them, having returned from getting some replacement sets of skates.

"This here is Jessica's mother and sister!" Duke smirked in amusement, "Seems they've come to surprise everyone!"

"They been scanned with the mask yet?" Canard eyed them suspiciously.

"I beg your pardon?!" Lizzie eyed the tan mallard suspiciously.

"Don't let them out of your sight till Wing scans them." Canard ignored the woman and moved past them towards the changing rooms.

"We're going to hit the ice and start breaking in these new skates." Mallory said as she followed him, "It was nice to meet the both of you." She trotted off and followed Canard.

"We've got company." Canard called through he office door to Wildwing who was still sat at the desk working through some finances and organising some appearances, both paid and charitable.

"huh?" He looked up, his brain a little frazzled from working for too long.

"You might want to put that mask on." Canard said gruffly before continuing his march to the changing rooms, Mallory close behind. Wildwing scowled at the mask that still sat innocently on top of the filing cabinet.

"Wildwing, thi…." Wildwing jumped at the slight panic in Jessica's voice but mostly at the sight of the older woman that was in the doorway beside her. He knew exactly who it was.

"Mrs Fury!" He stood up to quickly and cried out as he pulled on the wound in his leg. He leaned heavily on the desk, unaware that Jessica had rushed forward. He looked up at the hand on his shoulder and allowed Jessica to guide him back down onto his chair.

"I saw on the news that you were injured rescuing a mother and child." Lizzie stated eyeing him almost coldly.

"Mother." Jessica said in a warning tone.

"Um," Wildwing scratched his, "Yeah." He looked to Jessica for help and Jessica merely shrugged.

"Well I suppose marrying a hero is better than you being alone for the rest of your life." Lizzie gave Wildwing a sidelong glance. "And he'll be a good influence on Molly."

"Um, thanks, I think." Wildwing tried not to make a face at how awkward Lizzie Fury was making this meeting.

"Mom!" Cassie scolded, "We discussed this, and dad said to be nice!"

"Mother!" Jessica growled. "A word. Please." Jessica stormed from the room not looking to see if her mother was following. Duke did his best not to laugh at the hilarity of what was happening, but even he couldn't stop a smirk crossing his beak.

"So," Cassie turned to her soon to be brother in law, "sorry about our crazy mom." She gave him a sheepish grin.

"Uh…" Wildwing wasn't too sure of how to respond to the girl before him. She was several years younger that Jessica and much shorter with a tiny waist, with muscular legs and arms and a mop of frizzy blonde hair that was haphazardly tied back into a pony tail. When he realised that he had been staring he visibly shook his head and smiled at her, "It's okay. I know she's not all that fond of me."

"Hah!" Cassie waved her hand at him dismissively. "She doesn't approve of anyone!" She rolled her eyes, "You should have heard the fuss when I announced I was getting married to Yukio!"

"You're married?" Duke asked having thought Jessica's sister had looked too young for such things.

"Sure, for two years now." Cassie shrugged, "I met him years ago when we were both at an international event and each time, we met it kind of felt right." Cassie smirked, "But the fact that I was going to marry another horse rider, let alone one on an opposing team was the end of the world to mom." She turned back to Wildwing, "She likes you more than she likes Yukio. She almost refused to come to the wedding because she'd got it in her head that he was going to whisk me away to Japan and she'd never see me again! Of course, what she didn't realise was that Yukio had already been looking for a place to buy in the states so that we could be near my folks. His are all business and Yukio prefers the way our family are so figured it would be better for any kids we have, to live closer to the more loving grandparents. Not that the Chisattos are not loving, they're just very…um, well to be diplomatic, they expect a lot of kids. Yukio had to have the best grades and that was before they even considered allowing him to compete professionally."

"So, where's your man now?" Duke asked ignoring the disapproving look Wildwing shot his way.

"Oh, he's off training with the Japanese event team." She shrugged. "They're hoping to get an actual team through to the Olympics next time around. Yukio has competed a few times, so have several of their teammates, but it's rare for a full Japanese team to get to compete selected. They normally just have a couple of individuals competing. It's a shame really as they have a lot of talented riders, they just don't have the competitions at the right level in their country yet, plus it's pretty short on space. But they'll get there." She finished with a proud smile from talking about her husband.

"You compete too, though right?" Wildwing asked.

"Well yeah," She shrugged, "But I got to grow up competing here where the competitions are pretty competitive and then I went to England to train with some of the top riders there as well. The UK is home to the best equestrian athletes in the world and I was so grateful to my great aunt for organising it for me. I'm not the best out there, not nearly as good as Yukio, but I'm good enough to earn money and get some sponsorship for what I do." It was then that Lizzie and Jessica returned to the room.

"Wildwing," Lizzie nodded, and the room felt very tense for several moments, "I am not sure I approve of you. But as my daughter has pointed out, I also do not know you and," She paused and looked to Jessica, "Jessica tells me that she intends to stay with you no matter what I think. So, I suppose I had best get to know you." Wildwing wasn't sure what to say. Part of him was offended that the woman had judged him unworthy of her daughter despite not knowing him. The other part of him wanted to reassure this woman that her being protective of Jessica was natural and that he understood.

"So, with that in mind," Jessica said firmly and aiming a pointed look at Lizzie, "We are all going to go out for a meal tonight. No arguments, no being childish." She gave Lizzie another pointed look, "Am I making myself absolutely clear?" Lizzie merely nodded and the room stayed silent.

"So," Duke clapped his hands together and gave his best smile in an attempt to cut the atmosphere a little, "Why don't I give you two a tour of the place."

"Sounds good to me!" Cassie said taking her mother's arm, "Let's go mom!" She dragged the older woman out of the room and looked over her shoulder as she followed Duke out, "See you later Wildwing, Jess!" Wildwing Raised his hand in a small wave and shook his had in slight disbelief in what had just taken place.

"Well that was awkward." Wildwing stated as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry Wing." Jessica sighed, and Wildwing didn't fail to notice that she was picking at her nails. Something she tended to do when she was agitated about something, "If I had known she was coming I would have prepared you for what she'd be like. This is why I've been putting off going up…" She blinked as she was suddenly in his arms."

"It's okay." Wildwing soothed his fiancé, "I'm pretty sure the intention was to surprise us." He pulled away, but not by much, "Given everything that's happened, I'm surprised she didn't come to check on you sooner." He rubbed the back of his neck, "I should have made the effort to take you and Molly to visit before any of this mess happened. So, it's my fault really. She's just looking out for you and Molly. It's not like I've done a…" He winced at the punch to his arm.

"Don't you start blaming yourself Wildwing Flashblade!" Jessica glared at him. "I don't blame you for any of this! And mom knows my feelings on her behaviour too. So, stop with the pity party!" Wildwing blinked and sniggered.

"Yes ma'am." He said wrapping his arms around her waist again. He pulled closer then jumped back.

"He moved!" Wildwing exclaimed then looked up at her, "He did move right?" Jessica laughed at him. "Was I imagining things?!"

"You're like a big kid, you know that?" She smiled lovingly at him as she took his hand and held it against her stomach. "And we asked Alex not to tell us the sex, so you don't know it's a boy yet." She rubbed her thumb across his hand as he felt for more movement and beamed at her lover as he gasped at another movement of their baby inside of her. So far it was healthy. Alex gave her a check up almost every week to be sure nothing went wrong. As far as he could tell, it was growing normally as far as he could tell. They wouldn't know for sure if the child would be completely healthy until the birth and her brother was already talking about the possibility of a caesarean. She had sat down with her brother, Wildwing at her side, as Alex told her all the issues that could arise with a natural birth.

"We should give it a nickname then." Wildwing state as he stood up to his full height.

"Hmn?" Jessica had been enjoying his attentions and had gone into her own little world by the time he had spoken.

"If I can't call him a him or a her, we should give our baby a nickname till they're born." Wildwing said like an eager child. Jessica wasn't sure if it was the hormones or not, but her heart swelled at her fiancé's behaviour.

"How about bean?" Jessica suggested as she took his hands and looked up at him.

"Bean is good." Wildwing replied with a smile. His hand cupped her cheek and he stroked is with his thumb. She leaned into the touch and brought her hand up to hold it there. He leaned in and nuzzled her gently. "I love you Jessica."

"I love you too Wildwing." She replied, kissing his cheek as she did.

"So, will your mother want fancy, or will that make her think I'm showing off." He changed the subject before they could get any more intimate.

"Choose somewhere nice." Jessica shrugged, "She won't care about the price. I'm pretty sure she just wants to reassure herself that you'll look after me. And Cassie is just here to help keep mom in check." She smirked, "I had better thank dad for sending Cass along with her. Although I should probably chew him out for not warning me too!" She chuckled, "Please don't let her intimidate you. She has to realise that we are getting married. Whether she likes it or not."

"I'd prefer it if she approved." Wildwing admitted then smirked with twinkle in his eye, "I had an uncle growing up who warned me of mother in laws. I guess it's the same no matter where you are, huh?" Jessica laughed at him then excused herself to find her parents. Wilding stayed behind to finish what he was doing and to call around the nicer restaurants he knew to make a booking. After a couple more hours of work, he made his way down to the underground base to wash up and change. Not to mention help Jessica get ready. As amusing as he found watching her try to reach her toes to put her socks and shoes on, he didn't like to let her suffer for too long.

 **I have nearly finished the first level of my course! Whoop whoop! I'm going to take a break between this level and the next one so hopefully I can get some more writing done. Anywho, Next chapter is started, and I hope to get it up soon. I have two more assignments to do and a cosplay to prepare for a championship, so I will do my best to get it done around those jobs! I hope you liked it! 3**


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32:**

"Concentrate on your breathing." Angel said quietly to Tanya who sat opposite her in the best lotus position the blond duck could muster, "Let the physical world melt away and allow the energies around you flow into you. Feel the energy as it fills the air around you. Breathe deeply and allow the energy to enter your astral body until you are nothing but energy." She was aware that Tanya was frowning, despite her eyes being closed, but Angel hoped that the simple techniques would assist the woman with what she had been through and help Tanya with her ability to string more than a few words together. She could feel the tension emanating from Tanya and almost laughed, the woman was not very good at relaxing. Nosedive was with them and unlike Tanya, Angel could feel Nosedive relaxing and his astral form strengthening. As much as he complained about the meditation that she had him do before every session; he was very good at the spiritual side of it. His spirit was strong, and he certainly had the potential to be a master if he continued his training. The door quietly opened and both Nosedive and Angel sensed an approaching form. The form settled beside Angel and said pirate opened her left eye to glance at the little girl who was busying herself with copying the positions she saw the adults in the room in. Angel made sure to pretend that she hadn't noticed and watched the girl with a half-lidded eye. When Molly seemed satisfied that she was in the right position she stretched her back, placed her hands on her small knees and closed her eyes. Angel opened her eyes fully and looked to Nosedive who was grinning at Molly. Their eyes met and Angel smiled back.

"It's n…no use." Tanya told them angrily. "I just can't f… fo… concen…. Ugh! I can't do it!" Tanya finally finished. The blonde got up, very aware that all eyes in the room were on her, before storming out to find something else to do. " _Preferably something that_ _involves_ _tinkering_ _."_ Angel frowned, but only out of sympathy more than disapproval. With a sigh, Angel turned to Nosedive.

"You're getting stronger." She told him to change the subject, as she stood up. She looked down at Molly who was looking up at them curiously. "If you can manage to meditate for a full half hour, I will show you a few basic moves." Angel winked to her.

"Really?" She beamed at Angel, "Cool!" Molly squealed.

"So," Angel turned back to Nosedive, then walked past him to the weapons rack, "let's see how you cope with incorporating a weapon into your fighting." She took a couple of bokken off the rack and threw one to Nosedive, who caught it easily. "And your blaster and gauntlets don't count." She smirked at him. Nosedive swung the wooden practice blade a few times and returned her smirk with one of his own.

"Bring it on babe." Nosedive challenged.

"Careful what you wish for!" Angel rolled her eyes, "To use a weapon with martial arts, you need to become one with it. It is an extension of yourself and you should treat it as such. We'll start with the sword because it's my favoured weapon, but I will show you moves with all sorts of weapons eventually and we'll figure out which weapon suits you as you get more familiar with them." She gave him a judgemental look. "First show me how you hold a sword." She emphasised the word 'you' and he nodded to her. He gripped the wooden sword with two hands, and she walked around him calmly. "Relax your grip." Dive nodded and did as he was told, "While the grip should be firm, too hard and it limits the movements you can make with the weapon itself. Plus, your movements with it become less fluid." She glanced at Molly who was simply watching them now but the child was being quiet, so she paid it no mind. With her attention back to Nosedive, Angel noted that while Nosedive had relaxed his grip, his shoulders were still tensing. She walked up behind him and placed her hands on both, "This is no different to fighting hand to hand," She said softly to him, unaware of the shiver she sent up Nosedive's spine, "you still hold your body in the same way. Your body should still be like water, ready to ebb and flow through whatever might try to block your path." Nosedive took a deep breath and Angel smiled as the tension left his shoulders and he seemed to relax. "Better. Now, widen your grip. With your hands close together like that, you will find it harder to make more complicated movements." Dive adjusted his grip and looked to her.

"Like this?" He asked causing Angel to smile.

"Like that." She said feeling her cheeks flush for some reason, she cleared her throat and carried on, "Okay, so to perform a basic strike," She held her own bokken and lifted it above her head, "Have the opposite foot to your working arm slightly further forward, as you strike downwards, your other foot comes forward to put force into the strike." She carried out the move herself to show him what she meant, then looked at him, "You try." He nodded and got into position. The strike was awkward, but Angel nodded. "How did that feel?"

"Clumsy." Dive scowled more at himself than at Angel. Said girl sniggered.

"It did look a little awkward." She admitted, "But I've seen people make a first strike and lose their grip on the sword, so it could have been worse." She ignored his look then got back into the basic sword stance, "I'll show you a few more basic moves and then show you how to link them into a kata." She slowly maneuvered the sword around. First to a sideways strike, to a backwards block and then to the forward strike once more. She looked at him expectantly and Dive began to imitate her slowly. He wobbled slightly in places and his grip needed to get used to the task of holding the wooden blade and the movements he was doing. She performed the short kata alongside him a few times to allow him to shadow her and when she was sure that he knew the routine she stepped to one side and watched him repeat the kata. His face showed both intense concentration and determination as he carefully carried out the movements. "You're tensing again." She pointed out. Nosedive stopped to glance at her, then took a calming breath before starting again. "Widen your stances slightly as you move through the kata. It will improve your balance as you move from one strike to the other" She advised calmly as he came to the end again. The blonde mallard nodded and did as he was told, pleasantly surprised that the minor adjustment helped him immensely. "Better. When you train, work on that kata with the wooden blades until you can do the movements in your sleep. When we train together, I will make sure your form stays perfect. Once you've got it down to the point of instinct we'll build on your moves from there."

"Sure." He said slightly distracted as he continued to practice the kata. Angel smiled at him then turned to Molly.

"Now as for you." She smirked as Molly jumped and pretended to go back to meditating. "Come on, get to your feet." Molly's eyes snapped open and she literally bounced to her feet with a huge grin on her face. "I'm going to show you a something you can practice that will help you become aware of your body without meditating."

"How come you didn't show me that?" Nosedive stopped what he was doing and looked at Angel with an incredulous look.

"You needed to learn stillness." Angel rolled her eyes, "Molly's body isn't strong enough to learn even a portion of what you've learned." She raised a brow at him, "So stop questioning the teacher here and get back to your kata." Dive stuck his tongue out at his 'teacher' and went back to his own movement. Angel moved into a fighting stance and Molly copied her. She began moving her arms and shifting her weight slowly as if playing with an imaginary ball in her hands. Molly did her best to copy but frowned when she was struggling to make it look the same, "Imagine a bubble between your hands. You have to move gently with a flow that won't burst or drop that bubble." Molly tried again and was a little better, "That's getting there." Angel encouraged, "keep practicing that whenever you have enough space and you're bored." She told the child who nodded and then ran off, presumably to tell whoever would listen that she was learning how to fight.

"She is way too cute right?" Dive smiled after her.

"She knows it to." Angel sniggered. "I'm going to go take a shower. I want to get going soon and I want to have one last chat with Sukiya before we go."

"You like her stories, huh?" Dive asked with another smile.

"She knows so much about my people." Angel shrugged, "More than I could ever learn from a book or data file. I intend to learn as much as I can from her whilst I still can. Plus, she's interesting."

"Fair enough." Dive replied, "I'm gonna keep practicing for a bit longer then I'll get started on dinner." Angel nodded in a distracted manner as she left the room. Dive shook his head. He had to admit, the way Angel would look at the old woman who had insisted she be called Suki, despite Angel's insistence on using the woman's full name, was adorable. It was filled with wonder and Angel lapped up the stories as if living them herself in her mind's eye. Dive liked seeing Angel enjoying herself so much. It was new to him and he intended to make sure he saw that look more often when they got back to Earth.

Angel made her way through the ship, fully intending to go and find Suki on the Orion but stopped when she saw Mookie hunched over something with her tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth. She curiously approached the older human woman and looked over Mookie's shoulder. What she saw made her blink. It was an incredibly well drawn sketch of herself sat across from Sukiya, clearly in the midst of one of her conversations that she had engaged in with the older woman rescued by the crew of the Orion.

"Is that me?" Mookie jumped causing her hand to slip and the pencil to slip across the page. Mookie glared at Angel and turned back to rub out the offending line. "Sorry."

"You're worse than Duke you know." She shook her head. "Yes, it's you. Do you like it?" Mookie peered at her friend apprehensively. Angel knelt down so she could look at it more closely. She reached out her hand and touched the paper.

"Do I really look like that?" Angel asked with an odd look on her face. Still studying the picture with a rush of emotions going through her mind at how she had been drawn.

"I think so." Mookie replied, "You don't like it, do you?" she added dejectedly.

"No!" Angel's attention snapped to the older woman, "No, I like it. It's just…." She sighed, "Never mind. Have you done any others?" Angel chose to change the subject. Mookie gave her an odd look of her own but didn't query the strange reaction to her picture being drawn. Instead she passed Angel the drawing pad to Angel to allow her to flick through it.

"Mai Draws too." Mookie shrugged, "We were talking, and I mentioned that I missed having my sketching gear with me. That's when she told me she had some spare and gave me something to draw with. She's much better than me, but I still like to put memories to paper."

"These are so good Mookie." Angel told her as she passed the book back, "I wish I could do something like that. Sometimes I feel like the only thing I'm ever good at is fighting."

"Hey, I've heard you sing!" Mookie declared, causing Angel to go a deep red, "That's something I sure as hell can't do! So, you're not just some badass fighter, you're also a signer too!" Mookie grinned at her. The grin turned to a frown when Angel looked away, "You know," She poked her friend in the shoulder, "When we get back to Earth, I'm gonna take you to a karaoke joint and you can sing to your hearts content!"

"What's karaoke?" Angel asked cocking her head to the side, reminding Mookie of a puppy when it was confused.

"Well, it's where they take the vocals from a popular song and leave the backing music. You can then sing along to the backing track and they put words up on a screen for you in case you don't already know the words!" Mookie explained with her hands gesturing in an excited manner, she brought her hands back down when she almost dropped her pencil.

"Sounds like fun." Angel smiled then frowned, "But how do you know the tune to sing, if there is no one to sing along with? Surely you need to know the tune before reading the words?"

"Oh, well normally you would sing something you would already know, so I guess that I will just have to treat you to as much awesome Earth music as possible before we go!" Mookie declared as she leaned forward and wrapped an arm around Angel's shoulder to bring the girl in for a hug. "It's the least I can do after everything you've done for all of us!" Angel stiffened for a moment or two but soon leaned into the hug. She had to admit that she was enjoying being close to people. It was nice not to be considered some unattainable monster, feared by the people she fought against, and feared still by the people she tried to protect. Others she had rescued had never interacted with her like Mookie and the others had and she knew that it was because they were scared of her. She knew that to most; she was a killer whose only purpose and worth was how many people she could save. Otherwise those very same people she saved, would want her hunted down as well. She was painfully aware of the fine line she hovered close to. But these new friends didn't see her as a monster. They treated her like a normal girl. Like a friend.

"You ever wonder what it would have been like?" Mookie asked as she let Angel go and reopened her sketch book to keep working on her latest sketch.

"Hmn?" Angel "What are you talking about?"

"You know?" Mookie turned her head to get a different view of her sketch before putting her pencil to the paper again, "What it would have been like if the Plutarkians hadn't trashed your planet." Angel blinked and looked at Mookie for several minutes as she gathered here thoughts.

"Not really." Angel admitted, "I mean I've wondered what it would be like to be one of the teenagers I've seen when I've been to Falsus where the GA headquarters are. They don't seem to have a care in the world. At least not from what I can see."

"I can't even begin to imagine not being able to go to school." Mookie admitted, "or not knowing my folks or the rest of my family. The fact that you're the way you are is pretty awesome you know." Mookie smiled at Angel's surprised face. Mookie then made a face, "I think I just admitted that I liked school!" Mookie laughed.

"Thank you, Mookie," Angel chuckled, finding Mookie's laugh infectious. She then got up to carry on looking for Sukiya and added when she was out of ear shot, "For not seeing the monster." With a sad look over her shoulder she left the room.

"You're welcome." Mookie called after her, not looking up from her art work.

Duke looked down at the metallic arm finally attached to what was left of his missing appendage. He had spent hours on an operating table. Alex had done the work himself with the assistance of Mary and Buzz. When he had first woken up, he had felt nothing, and the arm was unresponsive. The young Buzz had assured him that it would take time for his brain to figure out how to work the artificial nerves that would move the arm. It had already been a couple of weeks since he had gone through the operation and only now was, he starting to be able to twitch his fingers. It was a small victory, but it was still frustrating to still be so far from being able to help the team. Both on the ice and on the battle field.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Jessica asked as she held a cup of coffee to the eldest duck on the team who was sat on one of the kitchen counter stools.

"Thanks Jessica." Duke smiled and took the mug with his real hand, not trusting his new artificial hand not to drop or even break the mug.

"You wanna talk about it?" Jessica pushed again.

"About what?" Duke scowled at his mug, "About the fact that this arm is amazing by human standards and I am eternally grateful to ya brother and Buzz for designing it, and Mary for helping attach the thing to me." He growled at himself more than the situation, "But this arm'll neva be good enough ta wield a hockey stick, let alone my sabre."

"They're still working to improve it." Jessica tried to encourage.

"And I know that!" He sighed, "which makes me feel even worse for not bein' happy with this metal heap hangin' off my shoulder!" with an angry growl, he threw the mug and was mildly satisfied with the resulting crash as it hit the wall and the last of his coffee splattered across the wall and onto the wall.

"You know I can't bend down to clear that up right?" Jessica smirked at him to show she wasn't pissed at him, "Feel better?"

"A little." Duke snorted but didn't resist when Jessica put her arm around his shoulders and squeezed.

"Do I want to know?" Wildwing asked as he entered with Canard in tow and they surveyed the mess on the floor.

"I'll clean it up later." Duke said gruffly as he got up and promptly left the kitchen, having no intention of discussing his feelings with the younger mallards. Said mallards watched him leave then looked to Jessica for an explanation.

"He's just struggling with his new arm." the woman shrugged. She walked over to the mess on the floor and tried to pick it up without falling over.

"Let me do that." Wildwing said quietly as he joined her. Jessica struggled to get up and was surprised when a tan feathered hand held her elbow and gave her some assistance. She smiled at him in thanks and he helped her over to one of the stools before grabbing a towel and tossing it to Wildwing.

"Thanks." Wildwing said as he mopped up the spilt coffee then carefully picked up the broken mug.

"He still struggling to move the thing?" Canard asked as he grabbed a water bottle from the fridge.

"Seems so." Jessica shrugged, "So no bringing it up with him!" She glared at both men, "He's sensitive enough about it and you saw how he just reacted to you guys walking in on…" She stopped as Drake one signalled that there was an incoming call. The occupants of the room looked at each other then moved to the ready room. Wildwing went ahead and accepted the incoming communication. "Molly!" Jessica beamed and moved as close to the screen as possible to see her daughter better. Nosedive stood in the background with a grin and Mookie sat beside him. They noticed that Angel was missing from the room, but that wasn't unusual and given how long it had been since they had heard from the missing members of their family, they barely even noticed.

"Mom! Guess what?!" Molly squealed.

"What?" Jessica smiled as Wildwing wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she happily leaned into the embrace.

"Nosedive and Angel found Tanya and guess who she was with?!" Molly grinned wider.

"That's awesome!" Jessica replied.

"Is Tanya okay?" Wildwing asked urgently, aiming the question to his brother, not really registering the second part of Molly's excited statement. A small part of him also wanted to ask about the black outfit Nosedive seemed to be sporting. He hadn't worn the clothing in any of the other communiques they had had with them and it looked like battle gear. But right now, he needed to know how Tanya was.

"She's…" Nosedive frowned, "She's not too badly hurt. They were using her and a bunch of other egg heads to work on their tech so they were kept fed and alive." He looked away, "They didn't treat her too well though and her speech problems are a lot worse than they used to be."

"We'll help her as best we can when you get home Dive." Wildwing reassured, "At least she's safe now."

"Yeah but guess who else was there mom?!" Molly almost whined.

"Who?" Jessica asked.

"Auntie Charlie!" Molly beamed, "She was there too!" Molly added really quickly in case anyone interrupted her again, "And Angel's friends are friends with Auntie Charlie and we met them before and they told Dive and Angel that they were looking for their friends and…."

"Slow down kid!" Canard rolled his eyes, "You're giving me a headache." He shrugged at the annoyed look Wildwing gave him when Molly looked upset.

"I'm sorry." Molly said looking down at the floor, all the excitement leaving her. When Nosedive placed a hand on her shoulder, the little girl turned and allowed Nosedive to pick her ip so she could cuddle into his neck. Nosedive Scowled at the tan mallard.

"Charlie was with Tanya?" Jessica muttered, "But how?" Now concerned about Charlie's welfare as well as Tanya's.

"A creep called Limburger, that's how." Said a new voice the ducks didn't recognise. A red headed human walked through the doorway with Angel close behind. Canard raised a brow at the woman as he studied her image on the monitor. She had long red hair and was certainly easy on the eyes. The woman wore jeans and a loose shirt and had a tool belt on. "He's a Plutarkian and I've been helping some friends of mine fight them for the last few years."

"From the sounds of it he's teamed up with old lizard lips, bro." Nosedive said with a hint of urgency, still rubing Molly's back.

"But to the world at large," Charlie continued, "he's a respectable businessman. So, he's been able to get away with a lot of crap by hiding behind his image."

"If he's teamed up with Draganus, do you know what they're up to?" Canard asked.

"We only have bits and pieces." Angel admitted.

"What we do know is that they had a whole bunch of us working on some machine…" Charlie started.

"Before we met up with your friends," Nosedive said to Charlie, "Angel found out they were trying to bring Draganus' army from dimensional limbo."

"They do that," Wildwing looked horrified, "Earth won't stand a chance." His grip tightened around Jessica protectively.

"Then what do we do?!" Jessica asked in a small voice looking sick to her stomach.

"We stop them." Angel said in a matter of fact manner.

"Easier said than done kid." Canard said with a scowl at the much younger girl.

"I never said it would be." Angel replied with a cold look at Canard, "An acquaintance of ours is already well on her way to the Galactic Alliance. I've already been in contact with them myself, numerous times since meeting Nosedive and the others. I have my own contacts in the GA and one of those contacts is a councilman. They've already had Earth and Mars on their radar as potential planets that could benefit from their assistance. Along with any other occupied planets in the terran system."

"Earth isn't exactly accepting of aliens suddenly appearing." Wildwing frowned.

"We can cross that bridge when we reach it." Angel shrugged. "Last I spoke to one of my contacts, she was working on digging up anything she could on what the Plutarkians were up to. But she doesn't know enough about saurian tech to successfully locate and hack saurian computer systems."

"What does that mean?" Jessica asked.

"It means, she's also working on her superiors to let her join any GA forces that are likely to be sent out to assist the terran sectors." Angel explained. "She's the head of technological research of the Galactic Alliance, but she also doubles as one of the body guards for the high council, and a regular agent. She'll be able to find and hack the saurian systems in a hot minute from a closer proximity. In the meantime, she and her staff are doing everything they can to figure out what's happening from the Plutarkian systems."

"When will you be home?" Jessica asked almost desperately.

"Just a few more weeks." Angel reassured. "Nosedive can tell you the rest. I need to go speak to the others in the Orion about our next move and flight plans." Angel declared more to Nosedive than anyone else, "Take all the time you want. We're safe on this station."

Canard didn't really contribute towards the conversation all that much, instead he simply listened and watched the people in the room shown on the monitor. He wondered where Tanya was and why she wasn't there with everybody, but the way Nosedive responded to Wing's question about her, suggested that his teammate wasn't doing too well mentally. Like his best friend, he had noticed the battle gear that Nosedive wore, which was a complete 180 to what the blonde had worn up until he had been kidnapped. His normal gear was a more simplistic version of Wildwing's. The colours differed slightly, but they were pretty similar and the armour was something Wildwing had insisted on, for Nosedive's safety. Of course, Nosedive's upgrade in outfit, was the least of his concerns so he didn't even bother to pipe up about it. His biggest concern was the conversations about the saurian army. Wildwing was right, Earth had no chance against it if they were to attack. Puckworld was more advanced than Earth was by at least 100 years and their planet fell in just a few days. Something told him that things were going to get very messy very quickly at some point in their near future. He just hoped the human governments accepted the help they would desperately need.

 **Another chapter up! I am editing this on my dad's laptop cause mine is currently off being fixed (thank the gods for insurance!). The parents have gone to the beach today so I have access to this all day and am hoping to get one more chapter out, assuming I am happy with it. Leave a review!**

 **Toodles, Angel!**


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33:**

 **Sorry guys, I tried to get this done for yesterday but I ran out of time to proof read and I am not too sure I have done a particularly good job this time around either! Anywho, it's up and I want to thank those who reviewed my last chapter. I hope you enjoy this one too! On with the story!**

Wildwing tried not to grumble as he limped behind Canard, Mallory and Grin. They followed a human of African descent down the hallways of a government facility. The man had introduced himself as Jackson Anders, but asked them to call him Jax. He wore a uniform that wouldn't look out of place in the Puckworld military and he had explained that he worked for the US shadow corps which dealt with things that the government didn't want the general public to know about. The man was a similar build to Canard and had his hair kept in a traditional military style with the exception of wide lines being shaved into the sides of his hair. Wildwing stopped for a moment to lean against the wall. He cursed the injury in his leg and how slow it was taking to heal. He looked up and cursed to himself again when he couldn't see the others. He clenched his eyes shut as well as his fists in frustration.

"I'm sorry," Wildwing looked up to see Jax stood not far from him, "I figured your friends would say something if you got left behind." Jax held out a hand to offer some assistance but Wildwing simply shook his head and put as much weight on his crutch as possible before moving towards Jax.

"I should have said something." Wildwing said through gritted teeth as he tried to ignore the growing pain from the overuse of his leg. He was sure he was going to get an earful from both Alex and Jessica when he got home. He had considered simply sending the others without him, but Canard wasn't a negotiator, Mallory could lose her temper and Grin would simply say something cryptic. So, he had no other option but to respond to the government request to meet with Jessica's father-in-law.

"You ask me, you should be home resting." Jax said as he kept in step with Wildwing this time.

"Yeah well," Wildwing grunted as he stumbled but managed to catch himself before embarrassing himself in front of the highly trained operative beside him, "I'm the leader, so I have a responsibility to..."

"My friend, you have a responsibility to heal for the benefit of your team." Jax shook his head in disbelief, "But the determination you have reminds me of another man I knew and it explains what Fury sees in you." Wildwing stopped and looked at Jax in shock.

"Excuse me?" Wildwing narrowed his eyes suspiciously, suddenly worried that this man might have something to do with Zachery.

"Relax!" Jax slapped his back in a friendly gesture and Wildwing was nearly toppled over by the power in the man's arms, "Before I was selected for shadow corps, I was a member of the special ops team led by Eric Fury. I knew Eric pretty well and with how much he talked about his lady, I can safely say that me and the other men who worked alongside him knew Jessica pretty well as a result despite never having met her in person. Never met anyone who loved another so damn much. I met her for the first time, at the funeral and I have to say, not only was she the knock out I imagined. But she was also as devoted to him as he was to her. It was a sad day when we laid Eric to rest." Jax stopped to allow Wildwing to rest again for a moment, "Jessica finding someone to love again will allow that man to find peace."

"I'm not sure I can live up to Eric." Wildwing admitted, "But I will protect her with my life. Her, Molly and our unborn child."

"Given how you banged up that leg?" Jax grinned, "I have no doubt!" He opened a door to reveal his team who looked at him in worry. "Relax people, I found him."

"Thank you Jax." Lionel said from his place behind an office desk. "Please take a seat Mighty Ducks." He indicated to the seats around the room, "Make yourselves comfortable." The ducks looked to each other and found themselves places to sit. Wildwing took a seat in front of the desk and slipped his crutch under his chair. Canard and Mallory took a seat on the sofa to the left of the room. Grin chose to remain standing, as did Jax.

"Why are we here general?" Wildwing got straight to the point.

"The government are uneasy." Lionel leant back in his chair and surveyed his guests, "The people are up in arms about what has been happening and the majority want to know what we, as the government are doing about it. So, I am under orders to assist you. Jax here, long with a few handpicked agents, will be at your disposal, as and when you require them. You'll be happy to know that we have selected those who have some hockey skills to also assist you on the ice." The older man smirked at the surprised looks.

"Do we have any choice in this?" Wildwing asked.

"Not really." Lionel said a little coldly. "If you refuse our assistance, we are ordered to take you into protective custody for your own wellbeing. You and my daughter-in-law." Lionel emphasised the word 'and'.

"So, if we don't let you help us," Canard piped up with an incredulous tone, "we're under arrest?!"

"No," Jax held out his hand in what he hoped was a calming manner, "protective custody. You people are shorthanded. Your base has already been compromised and there is no guarantee that your enemies won't manage to infiltrate the place again. You people are heroes and our government recognise that. We let you get killed and there will be more panic than we can control. So, they want us to help you. One way or the other."

"There is something else." Lionel crossed his arms and closed his eyes with a sigh. "The world leaders have been contacted by an alien force who claim," He used air quotes to emphasis the word claim, "to want to assist us. They mentioned your team by name as potentially knowing of them." He paused to take in the ducks' confused looks, "They called themselves the Galactic Alliance?"

"The girl who is helping my brother and the other missing members of our team and family, has mentioned them more than once." Wildwing informed them. "Nosedive even said they were planning to offer to help. Just didn't think it would be so soon."

"And why is it that some random alien police force think that we need help?" Lionel asked. Wildwing set to work informing them of everything that had happened and everything that they knew was potentially to come, if the Saurians and the Plutarkians were successful in their plans.

"If we can't figure out a way to stop the dimensional portal being completed, or we can't raise a powerful enough army to stand up to the Saurian army, then this world is working on borrowed time." Wildwing finished.

"I see." Lionel scratched his chin. He leaned forward and pressed a button. "Show in our other guests." The occupants of the room turned to the door and a few moments later the door opened and an old man walked in flanked by two alien women. One on either side of him. Wildwing stood unsteadily to allow the old man to take his chair but the man waved his hand at the duck.

"You are injured young man." the man's blue yes twinkled in amusement, "I may be old but I am not so old to take a seat from someone who needs it more."

"Uh, thanks." Wildwing said as he sat heavily back down. The newcomer had long white hair that was tied, half way down his back with an ornate bangle set with stones that seemed to have some kind of writing carved into them. The man had a long staff with him and wore what looked like a sword hilt at his belt. His robes were navy blue and brushed the floor. While he was slightly bent over with age, the man walked with no limp and he had an aura that demanded attention from anyone in the room with him. Wildwing made a mental note to ask Grin about the sensation he had since the man walked into the room. It was then that he noticed markings on the man's face similar to those Angel had. He wondered if the man was one of Angel's kind.

"This is..." Lionel went to look at a file before him but the man stepped in kindly.

"My name is Kyoza." He told them, "These are my personal body guards, Streaks," He pointed to the woman on his right who was a Martian mouse with a deep honey coloured coat of fur and long golden hair hanging down her back in waves. She wore a tight black, leather catsuit with the zipper not quite done up to the top to show off her well-endowed chest. Biker boots protected her shins and feet with short fingerless gloves on her hands. A tattoo showing a mouse head with, what looked like Harley Davidson handle bars behind the mouse head, sat over her right breast. There was a gun at each hip and several compartments on her belt. "And this is Kii-era." He indicated to the woman on his left. This was a Catatonian woman. Her coat was a shade of grey lighter than Duke's. Her curly hair was kept short on her head and was blue in colour. Wildwing wasn't sure if the woman dyed it or if the colour was natural to her species but it suited the woman. Unlike Kyoza's other body guard, this woman was a much smaller build and was much flatter in the chest area, although she wasn't much shorter than her mouse counterpart. She wore a demurer cat suit. While it was just a tight as the one Streaks wore, she had hers done up to the neck, as well as the collar. Her suit was in light blue with dark blue accents to it. At her waist was one small blaster, but also various little devices hung from her belt. "We have a small force that is currently taking up residence on the planet Mars. Given the gravity of the situation that I have been informed that you are in, I have not only authorised more to be dispatched to this sector, in anticipation of your accepting our help, but I have also come in person to discuss what we can offer you and your people."

"If you don't mind my asking..?" Wilding began.

"Kyoza is one of the thee high council members." Kii'era told them.

"He is one of the founding members of the GA." Streaks continued.

"And I have brought these two women because, they're both easy on the eyes and have brains to go with those looks!" Kyoza laughed at his own joke.

"If you weren't a crazy good warrior, I'd kick your ass old man." Streaks shook her head at her boss' antics, although there was a smirk on her face.

"Perhaps we should discuss the matter at hand sir?" Kii'era asked Kyoza, clearly the more serious of the group. Mallory perked up at her manner and the red head got the impression she would get along much better with the cat than the mouse.

"You two are far too serious for ones so young!" Kyoza harrumphed. Both women groaned and Kii'era stepped forward.

"While I serve as a body guard for this old coot, I am also head of development for the GA." Kii'era informed them, "I have already promised Angel that I would ensure that your security," Kii'era addressed the ducks, "is top notch. I understand that this continent's government has already offered you man power, but Streaks and I will be happy to add to your numbers as well."

"Hmph." Kyoza gave his body guards a pout, "And here I thought you two were here to protect me."

"We are." Kii'era rolled her eyes.

"But these guys need more help than you do." Streaks pointed out, "Quit playing victim old man!" She realised that everyone was looking at her like she was mad then added, "He's scarier than he looks! Trust me!"

"Well, I will speak with my superiors about the offer." Lionel told the trio, "For now, I must ask that you do not show yourselves in public. The human race may have accepted the ducks but the sudden appearance of more aliens might just cause a mass panic."

"Understood." Kyoza nodded to them then turned to Wildwing.

"I have been informed this morning that the Star Burst is in this sector and will be here shortly." Kyoza informed Wildwing. "My former student Angel was insistent on my telling you when our sensors picked up her ship's presence." He patted Wildwing's shoulder a few times, "Your brother and child will be home soon young man." Wildwing blinked, at a loss for words.

"Th.. Thank you." Wildwing stamered.

"We had best return to the ship sir." Kii'era caught her boss' attention.

"Yeah don't want the troops to thinks the Earth forces are hostile or something!" Streaks laughed earning a glare from Kii'era but a laugh from Kyoza.

"That is not helpful!" Kii'era said in an exasperated tone. Mallory decided she would definitely get on better with the cat than the mouse. She wasn't all that sure about the old man either.

"Jax," Lionel turned to the only other human in the room, "Please show our guests out and to their respective modes of transport." Jax nodded.

"This way ladies and gents." He said as he left the room.

Angel gently lowered the ship in the area Nosedive indicated and activated the cloaking systems to ensure no one could detect or see the ship without advanced technology. She sighed as she surveyed the scenery of Earth through the monitors. She knew that her friends were currently getting ready to leave the ship before they made their way to the pond. Angel had been sad to leave Sukiya behind with the Orion, but the woman had family she wished to find. Family that the woman felt sure was alive somewhere and the GA had offered to allow her transport via one of their transport modules and assistance with locating anyone related to her from Mars. Her chats with Suki had been so informative and the woman had been happy to tell here more about her developing abilities, even if the woman couldn't show her how to control them. She had made a promise though and she had to get her new friends' home. Now she had, and despite everything Nosedive had assured her, the small voice in her head was still telling her that they wouldn't want her to stick around now that they were finally home.

"You coming?" Nosedive asked as he popped his head through the doorway.

"I..." Angel blushed then looked away.

"Come on babe." Dive rolled his eyes, "You promised you'd give this place a chance. Don't you want to stay anymore?"

"Yes!" She said far too quickly and little too loudly. She cleared her throat, "I mean, yes of course I do."

"So, come on doofus!" Nosedive laughed as he moved forward to grab her wrist. He pulled her towards the doorway and into the depths of the ship, "You're gonna want to wear something different though. Don't wanna scare the locals."

"Oh. Okay." Angel said as she was bundled into her room. She walked over to her closet and grabbed some more civilian clothes similar to the designs she had seen in Mookie's sketches of people on Earth. She ended up in a long-sleeved top with a mini skirt and some flat ankle boots. She pulled the band out of her hair and brushed the kink out, from having it in a pony tail for so long. Once she was satisfied that she didn't look threatening in any way, she stuffed her swords into a shoulder bag and made sure to place on her computer bracelet and pull one of the sleeves over it. That would allow her to change into her battle outfit if she needed to. She went to find where Nosedive had gone since leaving her to change and found him in the hanger with Molly held on his hip.

"We all ready." He smiled. Angel found the smile infectious and Nosedive's excitement just made her smile grow further.

"Ready when you are Nosedive!" Mookie said also itching to go and see Thrash and the others. They set off into the Californian sunshine and after a half hour stroll the pond was in view.

"Mommy!" Molly struggled to get down and Nosedive allowed her to run on ahead. The child ran into the building and towards the small group of people who were talking in the foyer.

"Molly?!" Jessica had turned at the sound of her daughter's voice and was the first to spot the little blonde sprinting towards her. She moved forwards as quickly as her growing belly allowed and knelt down for a hug from her daughter. Molly flew into her mother's arms and instantly burst into tears. "I missed you Molly."

"I missed you too mom!" Molly held onto her mother as if she would disappear any moment.

"Hey guys." Nosedive waved as the rest of the group approached and the other ducks grinned at the people approaching. Wildwing hobbled towards his little brother and pulled the blonde into a bear hug, his crutch clattering to the floor. "Missed you too bro." Dive whispered and Wildwing tightened his hold. "Do I wanna know what happened to your leg?" Dive asked quietly.

"Probably not. And don't you ever do that to me again, okay?" Wildwing muttered to his brother.

"I'll do my best man." Dive told him returning the hug full force.

"Welcome back guys." Duke said to them. Tanya looked at Duke and the new arm hanging from his right stump and she looked away. Duke frowned and approached her. "Hey kid. I'm sorry I let them take you." He said bitterly. Tanya looked back at him with a surprised look before throwing her arms around his neck. She buried her head into his neck and cried. "What's all this about, you silly kid." He shushed as he rubbed her back in soothing circles.

"I... I'm Sorry!" She cried. "I... It's m... my fa... fau..." Tanya wailed.

"Enough of that Tanya." Duke soothed, "None of this was your fault. I don't blame you and nor should anyone else."

"Awe, guys." Nosedive grinned at the scene, as he managed to untangle himself from his brother and pick up the dropped crutch to ensure his brother didn't fall over or hurt himself further. Said brother hobbled over to Jessica and Molly.

"Wildwing!" Molly squealed when she had calmed down enough to notice him. She leapt from her mother and to Wildwing who toppled onto his rear end. He winced in pain as the wound in his leg pulled slightly. Canard went to say something but a quick glare from Wildwing and the tan mallard kept his beak shut.

"Hey princess." Wildwing held her close, "I'm glad you're home Molly."

"It's about time you guys got back!" Mallory grinned.

"We were beginning to think you would never make it." Canard added with a chuckle.

"Our team is whole once again." Grin said with a satisfied smile.

"Guys." Nosedive got everyone's attention, "This is Angel. I know you've met her on the vid screen. But..." He noticed Angel was stood some way behind the crowd with one arm wrapped across her body whilst holding the upper part of the other arm. She looked uncharacteristically nervous. Nosedive grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her forward. Angel yelped then bowed low.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all properly at last." She said far too quickly, remaining in the bow to ensure that she didn't have to look at anyone. A set of female legs appeared before her and she looked up to find Jessica studying her with an unreadable look on her face. Jessica pulled the girl into a hug.

"Thank you, Angel," She said, "for bringing my little girl home. For bringing everyone home." As always Angel tensed for several moments as Jessica embraced her but Nosedive grinned when Angel returned the hug.

"Let's get inside." Wildwing suggested as he pulled himself to his feet unsteadily. Molly looked up at him with a worried expression on her face, "I'm okay Molly." He ruffled her hair fondly.

"Sounds like a plan!" Nosedive grinned, "I vote we order pizza and I give Angel the tour whilst we wait for it to arrive!"

"What about Mookie?" Jessica asked as they made their way into the building.

"She's in the comic store." Nosedive grinned. "She's gonna bring Trash over when they're done...catching up." Nosedive sniggered. He again grabbed Angel's hand and dragged her towards the pond. Angel stared at his back and wondered where this very hyperactive duck came from. He was jovial and energetic, yes. But he had never acted quite so childlike when he was on the ship. She wasn't sure whether to find it annoying or endearing, but as the duck's hand squeezed hers gently, she settled for endearing.

"Guess pizza is on me as usual." Wildwing shook his head in amusement.

"Yay! Pizza." Molly squealed.

Later that evening, after Nosedive had made doubly sure that she could find her way around their base and had set up one of the spare rooms for her, Angel found that she couldn't sleep. So instead she had taken her trusty wooden practice swords and made her way to the roof.

Angel wasn't sure she was all that keen on living in an underground facility. At least on her ship she could see outside through the windows. Even if all she could see was stars half the time. She had to admit though, the ducks seemed nice enough and she quite enjoyed the pizza that she had shared. After dinner Canard, Mallory and Grin had accompanied her, with Nosedive to the ship to get some of her belongings. They had then returned to the pond to watch a movie as one very large family. All the people around her was a little overwhelming though. Which is why she had found she couldn't sleep. Her anxieties were playing terrible scenarios through her head which all resulted in her new friends rejecting her. She worked through her katas even as she sensed someone approach and watch her from the shadows.

"You know it's rude to stare like some creepy stalker." Angel said as she came to the end of one of her more complicated katas.

"You're pretty good." Duke said as he emerged from the shadows. "None of the others would have had any clue I was there till I said something. And those moves are pretty impressive too."

"From what I hear," She lowered the bokken to her sides, "you're not too bad yourself."

"Yeah well." Duke shrugged, "I'm nothin' anymore." Duke told her gruffly.

"Well that's a cop out if ever I heard one." Angel rolled her eyes.

"This arm don't work well enough to fight more than a novice." Duke said trying very hard to hold his temper.

"What's wrong with the other arm?" Angel raised an eyebrow.

"It ain't my sword arm." Duke replied defiantly. Of course, he was well aware that the argument wasn't quite as effective against another sword fighter as it had been against Jessica. Even on Puckworld I wasn't unusual for sword masters to be accomplished using both arms. Angel frowned at him then tossed a bokken his way. Duke, having been doing so much with his left arm since losing his right, caught it.

"Well it looks like it works okay to me." Angel smirked. Duke scowled at her but awkwardly spun the wooden sword in his hand testing its weight and feel. "Feel like sparing and testing a theory of mine?" Duke looked up at her in surprise that soon turned to anger. He threw the bokken at her feet and it landed with aloud clatter. Angel lifted her foot and stopped the wooden weapon from rolling any further.

"Oh yeah, make fun of the disabled guy!" Duke spat as he turned to leave.

"I wasn't making fun of you Duke." Angel replied calmly, although she felt the small beginnings of panic stirring in the pit of her stomach. "I was trying to help." Duke didn't stop though and she watched his retreating back. A mewl caught her attention and Angel looked down to see Moogie staring at her. "I didn't mean to upset him!" She said defensively. Another mewl and Angel sighed. "Something tells me this living with people isn't going to be easy."

 **I hope to get more up soon before I have to start my final assessments for this level of my uni course! Of course I am having to do this on my dad's laptop still as mine is still being repaired, or rather it has been repaired, it just hasn't been returned to the store yet! FML! Till next time!**

 **Toodles**

 **Angel**


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34:**

"What do you mean, a problem?" Draganus growled as his eyes were beginning to glow.

"Our sensors have picked up a small fleet of battle-ready ships and a battle cruiser that have taken up residence on Earth's moon." Limburger told him calmly, "Our spies within the Galactic alliance have confirmed to us that it is an envoy sent to offer assistance to this planet. Another envoy has already made contact with Mars. Which means my enemies will likely return to assist in the fight against us."

"Not to mention that brat has returned, my lord." Wraith pointed out, referring to Nosedive as he brought up video images of the blonde being celebrated by the humans on the vid screen.

"Who was accompanied by a known enemy of my people." Limburger scowled, "Many fear that girl."

"She is nothing but an overconfident child." Draganus snarled. "Once I have my army, we will also have access to the best warriors my forces have to offer. They will make short work of that brat and the ducks."

"I'm curious, Draganus," Limburger hid a small smile behind his clasped hands, "Why are your forces all still trapped in this limbo? Why didn't you free them all when you escaped and took this Puckworld you are always reminiscing about?" Draganus snarled but took a calming breath.

"Because, fish," he said through gritted teeth, "the method of escape was limited. While I was able to liberate some of my forces, it was only a select few. My generals are who you see here, the remainder of my small force were left on Puckworld and I am under assurances from those that remain on Puckworld that they maintain control there."

"If your forces were so limited how were you able to take an entire planet?" Ikaru asked from the corner of the room, "Were they so unprepared?"

"Their lack of preparation was certainly of benefit to our attack." Draganus smiled at the memory, "But our technology was able to create an army of enforcers and hunter drones. After that my victory was assured."

"I see." Ikaru replied from the corner of the room, where he had been surveying the conversation, "However, if the Galactic Alliance, and the space pirate Angel are here to assist, I am not sure that even your army will be up to the task."

"And why would you think that?" Draganus sneered.

"Because the GA consists of a vast majority of surviving Amayans." A woman told them from the doorway. The woman was dressed in what could only be described as akin to a Japanese yukata and Hoari. The Haori was adorned with exotic looking flowers that were certainly not from Earth and the yukata was a simple white. Both garments were made out of an expensive silk looking fabric. Her hair was pure white, and it flowed down her back, almost to the floor. The very ends were tied together with a gold clasp. Her eyes were blood red and were famed by similar markings to Ikaru. "And the girl…" She stepped forward, "While she is not the demon most wrong doers seem to think she is, the pirate Angel is formidable. Isn't she dear?" She stroked Ikaru's hair lovingly.

"She will fall to my hand mother." Ikaru said angrily. The woman took in a deep breath before slapping him hard across the face. There was a pregnant pause in the room as all eyes watched to see what Ikaru would do. But the man simply dropped to his knees and bowed to his mother. "I'm sorry mother. I will not speak so foolishly again."

"Your father was an incompetent fool allowing that child to escape us." The woman glared at her son, "But then your father made many mistakes." She gave Limburger a cold look, "Do not forget yourself again my son." She walked forward, "Now, I am here to assist you in taking this pathetic backwater planet. However, let's be clear that I am only assisting to move my own plans along."

"And those plans are?" Limburger asked, clearly knowing who the woman was beyond being Ikaru's mother.

"My own and not of your concern." She replied then turned to Draganus with a calculating look.

"If I am to work with you, woman, I will at least have your name." Draganus raised a brow at her, intrigued despite himself.

"I am the lady Akane." She told them, "I am this boy's mother and the rightful Empress of Azmaria."

"And how is it that you can assist us, Lady Akane?" Wraith enquired with a tip of his head. The old sorcerer could sense something about this woman that told him not to anger the woman. She was dangerous, perhaps more so than her son.

"By incapacitating your enemies." She replied cryptically. Draganus leant down so that they were face to face, his nostrils now steaming.

"And how will you do that?" He asked in a deadly voice.

"Now that would be telling Draganus." She replied with a small smile, not once flinching from the saurian who was perhaps four times her size. Draganus snorted then leant back and laughed.

"I believe we shall get along quite well woman!" He gave her a toothy grin. Akane merely raised a perfectly shaped brow, clearly not impressed.

"So, what is this thing that we have to go to?" Angel asked from the women's changing room in a store Nosedive had taken her to. "And why exactly do we have to go?" She asked as she stepped out in a long sleeved short black dress which covered the scars on her arms as well.

"I already told you, you don't have to go if you don't want to." Nosedive rolled his eyes but carried on at her scathing look, "It's a publicity stunt." Nosedive told her, "We aren't just heroes here, we're sports stars too. With everything that's happened we're low on funds and we need to start bringing in the money to make sure we don't lose the pond and our funds to make weapons." Nosedive smirked at Angel's eye roll.

"I thought this world's...um country's government would wish to assist." Angel said as she studied herself in the mirror, not really pleased with the dress but she hadn't liked anything else in the store either. "Why can't they just help out? I mean, you are helping them with their crime problems, and you've been fighting against that Draganus guy, right? That's to their benefit."

"Well yeah," Dive scratched his cheek, "but my bro is worried that they would use our tech against other humans or us, so he doesn't like the idea much. Although, Wing told me that we're going to be working with some human special ops soon. So, I guess the humans are helping us now."

"I see." Angel said as she threw the dress to Nosedive, over the curtain of the cubicle. Nosedive caught it and placed it on the pile to go back. Angel then stepped out of the cubicle dressed in the oversized jeans and shirt that Mallory had loaned her to help here fit in. "Earth fashion sucks by the way."

"You looked good in that last one." Nosedive told her with a shrug.

"Thanks." Angel said looking at the dress as if it were an enemy. "I just don't feel comfortable in it is all."

"You know." Nosedive picked up the many items of clothing that she had tried on and rejected to pass back to the clerk. "Mookie did mention a store I should take you too. She figured you wouldn't like the ones Mallory suggested." Nosedive looked at his phone and grinned, "She should be finished at the store soon too. I'll message her and we can go to the store together." He grinned at Angel who gave him a grateful smile.

"Did you find anything you liked?" The clerk asked with a smile as false as her lip implants.

"Sorry, no." Angel replied as Nosedive passed the pile of clothes back to the woman with an apologetic look. Angel went to leave and didn't miss the annoyed look on the woman's face.

"Come on. Mookie says she'll meet us at Benny's and we can grab something for lunch before we go to some stores she thinks you'll prefer." Nosedive led her to the left of the store they had just been inside and within five minutes, they were taking a seat in a booth in the diner known as Benny's. Mookie joined them and told Nosedive what she wanted to order before the blond mallard went to the counter to order and pay for the food and drinks. Angel had given him permission to choose on her behalf.

"So," Mookie glanced over her shoulder at Nosedive as he waited to be served, "How's living at the pond?"

"Okay." Angel said, "I've already upset Duke though."

"How?" Mookie seemed genuinely surprised, which made Angel feel far worse.

"I wanted to help him fight again." Angel said, "But I suppose I approached it in completely the wrong way, and he took offense." She looked out the window with a sad look on her face as she rested her chin on her right hand.

"Duke's an awesome guy though!" Mookie pointed out, "I'll bet he'll think about it and realise he was just being oversensitive and take you up on your offer."

"Maybe." Angel shrugged as Nosedive came back with some milkshakes. He passed a chocolate one to Angel and a mixed flavour shake to Mookie before sitting and taking a sip of his strawberry milkshake.

"You okay Angel?" Nosedive asked, noticing that Angel seemed upset about something.

"She tried to help Duke and he took offense so now she's sulking and worried she's upset him." Mookie stuck her tongue out at the annoyed look Angel gave her.

"What did you say?" Nosedive asked with a curious look on his face.

"Well I asked him why he didn't fight with his left arm. When I threw one of my wooden practice swords and he caught it with his left, I offered to spar with him." Angel blushed, "Only he thought I was making fun of him instead of trying to help him."

"Man, Duke's normally more laid back than that." Nosedive ran a hand through his hair. "Don't worry about it Angel. I'll talk to him." It was then that the food appeared. "That's for my friend here," He pointed to Angel, "That one's for me..."

"So that leaves you miss." The waiter said with a smile as he placed the final plate in front of Mookie. "Enjoy." He said to all of them before leaving to continue his duties. Nosedive and Mookie chatted amongst themselves with Angel occasionally joining in. Otherwise the alien girl simply listened to them as she ate the food she had been bought. Before long the trio had finished, and Angel was being led to some alternative fashion stores favoured by Mookie. The purple haired human grabbed a pile that rivalled the amount of clothes Angel had tried on throughout the entire morning, before steering her friend to the changing rooms.

"No price limit, right?" Mookie checked with Nosedive who shrugged.

"She needs Earth clothes." He said as he leant against a nearby wall, with his arms crossed, to see what Mookie came up with.

"Try some of these on and see what you think?" Mookie said as she pushed the Amayan into the cubicle, shoved the clothes on the bench and closed the curtains behind her. Mookie then walked over to join Nosedive. "Told you she wouldn't like anything the others would like. And Mallory's style is so not Angel's!"

"Yeah, yeah." Nosedive smirked. "I should have listened, I get it."

"Well you know a woman is always right." Mookie winked at him. Nosedive sniggered then looked up as the curtain to the stall opened again. Angel stepped out in some grey ripped skinny jeans and a long-sleeved skinny top that had a hole for her thumbs so that it looked like she was wearing fingerless gloves. On the top was a picture of Elsa, from Frozen, but with piercings and tattoos. "I like it!" Mookie grinned, "How about you?" Mookie watched as Angel looked at herself in the mirror. She turned this way and that before looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah, I do actually." Angel admitted.

"Cool," Dive grinned, "So that's one outfit down. You can't exactly wear that to the gala thing we have to go to though." He sniggered.

"Why not?" Angel asked looking confused.

"Well that's more of a casual outfit." Mookie explained, "You know, for doing stuff like this. Not fancy stuff." Mookie then realised that she probably hadn't grabbed anything formal. "Keep trying stuff on and pick what you like. Make a reject pile and a keep pile." She advised said as she turned to walk off.

"Where are you going?" Nosedive asked as Angel went back into the cubicle.

"She needs something fancy right?" Mookie turned and received a nod in response to her question. "So, I'm going to go find her some cool dresses that will make her look the part!" Nosedive made a face but turned to find Angel had another outfit on. This time it was an off the shoulder top with stars on, it in a light blue. Over it, she was wearing a denim overall dress that stopped short of her knees. Angel looked at herself in the mirror though and clearly didn't like it. Dive was sure it was because you could see the top of the scar on her right arm, where the top sat just below the obvious damaged skin. He stepped forward.

"If you don't like that one," He said, "give it straight to me and I can give it to one of the store clerks whilst you try on the next." Angel seemed surprised that Nosedive had caught on that she didn't like the outfit but nodded and passed him the clothes through the curtain, there not being enough room to throw it over the top of the curtain, as she had done in the previous clothes store. Nosedive took the clothes and made sure they were the right way round, and back on their hangers before catching the attention of one of the girls that was working there. She came over with a smile.

"Hey!" She grinned, "You're Nosedive right?"

"The one and only!" He winked recognising a fan instantly. She blushed slightly but took the clothes.

"The papers say you came back with an alien princess." She said with a laugh, "They also say you must be dating her. Is that true or are the papers making stuff up again?"

"Well I did come back with a new alien friend." He shrugged, "But we're just friends and she's a pirate not a princess." He winked. The girl laughed.

"Oh man that's way cooler than what the papers are saying!" She glanced around the store to make sure she wasn't needed anywhere before continuing on. "So, the girl that's in the changing rooms?" Nosedive nodded, "Is she the girl you came back with?"

"Sure is." He nodded "Her name's Angel and she's gotta be kitted out in some new threads. Including some fancy gear for some of our publicity appearances."

"Fancy huh?" She glanced up to see Angel was once again in front of the mirror. This time the girl was in a black pinafore dress with a long sleeved, red and black top underneath. Angel seemed to approve of this outfit. "Hi!" The shop clerk waved to Angel who turned.

"Um, hi." Angel looked to Nosedive to see if she was supposed to know this girl. Nosedive just shrugged with a smile.

"You know, that outfit needs to be accessorised. Why don't I call for some help and make sure you're kitted out properly?" The clerk grinned, "Plus, we've had a new shipment of dresses in this morning and there is one that I think will look amazing on you. Assuming you're into the style, that is." She grinned, "I'm Polly, by the way. Wanna show me what you have so far, and I can go get you the best accessories to go with them and the dress I was telling you about.

"Okay." Angel replied, "Thank you." She offered the girl a small bow.

"No thanks necessary!" Polly beamed, "Nosedive's been my favourite hockey player since he and his team appeared on this planet! I'm more than happy to help a friend of his. For an autograph and selfie?" She gave Nosedive a shy smile to accompany the question.

"Sure, thing Polly." Nosedive chuckled. "Anything for a fan!" He added with a wink.

"Oh, yeah!" Polly grinned, "So what do you have so far?" Angel picked up the other outfit she liked and showed it to Polly. "Nice choice." Polly nodded, "Okay, I already have some bangles and jewellery in mind. And you'll need some shoes too, not to mention a bag or two." Nosedive smiled at the look Angel was giving the clerk. The girl was so out of her element it was downright cute to him. He'd seen this side of her before of course. But it rarely surfaced off her ship. Mookie then returned with some rockabilly dresses and some elegant looking gothic style dresses.

"Nosedive Flashblade!" Mookie laughed when she saw Polly helping Angel. "have you been using your celebrity status to persuade innocent young girls to do your bidding?" Mookie sniggered at the incredulous look she received.

"She is a fan, but she offered to help on her own." He huffed.

"Yeah right!" Mookie laughed as Nosedive stuck his tongue out at her.

Before long Polly and Mookie had managed to accumulate enough in clothing, shoes and accessories for an entire wardrobe. Angel had also decided on three different formal dresses that she liked. Two were rockabilly style. The other was the dress that Polly had recommended. It was a jet-black dress in a Lolita style. It was what Polly described as a low-level Lolita dress and Polly had even given recommendations to them of shops, both online and street stores that Angel could go to, to get more Lolita dresses if she liked the style. Nosedive had to admit that the style suited her. He couldn't quite see the girl in the pink and colourful dresses he'd seen before online. But the gothic style suited her quite well. A lot of the outfits Angel had chosen for regular street clothes were of the grunge or more gothic style and he definitely approved. As the store was close to closing, he took out his card and paid for everything, only marginally surprised at how much they had spent. Before he left, he posed for the selfie with Polly and gave her the requested autograph. He also promised that they would be back if Angel wanted more clothing.

"I think maybe I should have bought one of the cars!" Nosedive laughed as they lugged all the bags along the streets. It would be a good half hour to get home from where they were. Nosedive stopped and placed the bags he was holding on the floor. "Screw this!" Using his phone, he ordered a taxi. "Wanna stay over?" Nosedive asked Mookie as they waited for the taxi to arrive. "You can call Thrash and we can show Angel how to relax our way!" Angel frowned as she felt eyes on her. She looked around, ignoring the stares of the humans. They were definitely not what she was sensing.

"Sounds like a plan." Mookie said as she pulled out her own phone and began calling Thrash. "He'll be there in about an hour." She told them when she finished the call, "He says he wants to finish the level he's on." She rolled her eyes. Angel narrowed her eyes at someone to their left. The figure stood in the shadows of any alleyway and appeared to be looking straight at them.

"Gotta respect the levels girly girl." Dive winked. "Let's get back to the pond and I'll order us something for dinner. By the time he's done, we'll have the chow and the good times a ready!" Angel took a step back and reached for her wristband. With a press of a button, she was in her battle gear, "Angel?" Dive asked as she shot off, "Angel!" He threw his wallet at Mookie then began running after his friend, "get back with all Angel's stuff!" He said over his shoulder, "And do me a favour, "Call the others! I kinda forgot my com!" Mookie shook her head, knowing full well that Nosedive would get an earful from his brother when whatever was going on was done. She did as she was told though and was told Canard and Mallory were on their way to back up her two friends.

"What the hell is the emergency?!" Canard bellowed as he found Angel and Nosedive in one of Anaheim's parks scanning the area, "And what kind of idiot forgets their com?!" He aimed at Nosedive.

"The man who took Duke's arm." Angel said in a demanding tone, "What was his name?" She continued with a hint of urgency.

"What does that…" Mallory began to ask.

"Answer the question!" Angel snapped.

"All right!" Mallory frowned, "Wildwing said his name was Ikaru." The red head raised a brow as Angel's skin paled slightly. "It was that nut job who also took Wing and Jess the day Nosedive and the others were kidnapped." She added as an afterthought.

"Wait." Nosedive turned to Angel, "Isn't that the name of…" Angel gave him a look that told him not to finish.

"What's going on?" Canard asked with his arms crossed and a stern look aimed at Angel and Nosedive.

"It might be best if we don't discuss this out in the open." Angel said then turned to Nosedive, "Let's go back to the pond."

 **Another chapter for you. I'm super busy atm, but I am hoping to get another chapter out soon around my final assignments for this year. xxx**


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35:**

 **By the gods I have had the worst luck the last few months! I have rewritten this chapter several times and am finally just about happy with it. I'm knackered and have work in the morning, so I am so sorry if I have missed any typos or grammar errors! Otherwise enjoy! 3**

"Spill it kid." Canard snapped as the current occupants of the pond were all settled in the rec. room.

"What's this about?" Wildwing asked as he looked from Angel to Canard, not missing that Nosedive was stood beside the purple haired alien like some sort of sentry and glaring daggers at Canard.

"The swordsman who took Duke's arm, he's definitely called Ikaru?" Angel asked. She kept her expression guarded.

"That's what the guy told us when he took Jess and me hostage." Wildwing affirmed.

"Do you know him?" Jessica asked risking a glance at Duke who had an unreadable look on his face.

"What did he look like?" Angel asked more insistently, as if ignoring the question.

"Tall, almost human if not for the markin's on his face." Duke narrowed his eyes at Angel, "Come ta think of it, markin's that look a lot like yours."

"Then he's an Amayan. Only we look human and have markings like these." Angel told them, as she touched the ones on her right cheek, "And you are lucky to be alive Duke." Angel earned a glare from Duke, but the older mallard said nothing in response to her comment.

"How do you know him, Angel?" Wildwing asked with a careful tone, sensing Angel was now a little uncomfortable.

"I've known him since I was a child." She admitted not meeting his gaze.

"So that freak is a friend of yours?!" Canard snapped.

"No way man!" Nosedive stepped forward angrily but a small hand on his forearm stopped him.

"Ikaru, is not and never will be any friend of mine!" She said with an almost deadly tone, but her breath was slightly elevated, which didn't go unnoticed by several people in the room.

"But he's one of your kind." Canard pointed out, clueless to the sleeping dragon he was poking.

"Canard." Wildwing said in a warning tone.

"Lu..Lucretia was a duck and sh..she was a…" Tanya stuttered.

"Yeah, she tried to bump us off and she's one of our own!" Nosedive defended, "So back off Canard. Or so help me…"

"Watch it kid." Canard snarled, "You might trust this little pirate, but the jury's still out for me."

"What?!" Nosedive took a step forward with a snarl.

"Stop it!" Angel grabbed Nosedive by the shoulder and spun him round. "He's got a point. I've done nothing to prove that I'm trustworthy. I am a pirate and he has every right to be suspicious of me." She turned and began to leave, "I need some air." She stormed out of the room leaving an awkward silence for several minutes.

"Nice going asshat!" Nosedive growled at Canard squaring off to the larger mallard.

"She agreed with me you brain dead brat!" Canard rolled his eyes.

"All right, that's enough!" Jessica stood up then winced before holding her belly.

"You okay?" Wildwing stood up and held her shoulders with a worried glance. He ignored Canard's eye roll at his mother hen behaviour.

"I'm fine." She grumbled, "You!" She pointed to Nosedive, "Go after that girl and make sure she is okay! There is clearly bad blood between her and this Ikaru creep and given what he's done to us so far, it's probably something that would give any of us nightmares." Nosedive nodded and went to leave, "And you!" She turned to Canard. "I hope you are proud of yourself! That girl has ensured the safe return of our friends and family. If that's not enough to earn our trust, then there is something wrong with you!"

"She's a damn pirate!" Canard argued.

"Yeah, and I'm a thief. What's ya point?" Duke shrugged. Canard gave him a furious look.

"That's different!" Canard grumbled, "You're one of us. She's not."

"Jessica isn't one of us either Canard." Wildwing said as he rubbed his temples, "So do me a favour? Stop digging the hole you're digging and go apologise to Angel."

"I will not apologise for looking out for this team!" Canard bellowed before storming out of the room.

"Here we go again." Mallory groaned, "I'll go talk to him."

"Thanks Mallory." Wildwing smiled at her.

"Are you positive you're okay with doing this? You could have stayed home with Tanya and Grin." Jessica asked as she looked at herself from the side in a mirror of the room, they had been given to wait for the opening ceremony. She frowned and adjusted her dress again.

"You look fine Jess." Wildwing chuckled and wrapped his arms around her from behind, smiling when she leant back into him.

"It's fine." Angel said not convincing anyone.

"You do look more uncomfortable in that dress than Jessica does in hers." Duke pointed out smirking at the irritated looks shot his way by both women.

"I said it's fine." Angel snapped. She pulled a little at the skirt as if to make the short garment slightly longer. It was a black number with long sleeves that covered half her hands and had holes for her thumbs to poke through. It was one of the few she had chosen that looked kind of normal. She felt it best to try and look what passed for normal for her first appearance.

"They're ready for you." A cheerful woman with silver hair and glasses all but sang as she opened the door.

"Come on." Wildwing took his fiancés hand and made sure his team were close behind.

"Why are you agreeing to this?" Duke asked quietly well aware that Nosedive was ever by her side and was listening carefully to their conversation. "You don't strike me as they type ta agree ta stuff like this."

"You don't really know me enough to make that statement." Angel pointed out.

"I happen to be a very good judge of character." Duke smirked, "I'm sorry I went off on one the other day. I know you were just tryin' ta help. I'm just feelin' a bit useless and my pride got the betta of me." He rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand. "But I still wanna know why you're agreein' ta dress up all fancy and be with us on somethin' that's got nothin' ta do with you."

"Because," She said a little too loudly then took a breath and carried on more quietly, "I'm better off up front where I can protect you people, against that monster."

"We can take care of ourselves you know." Duke pointed out.

"And look how well you did against him last time." Angel countered. "I have trained my entire life to make sure I am strong enough to fight Ikaru and his father." She whispered as they got onto a stage to the front of a new school that was being opened in one of the poorer areas of the city. Duke decided to drop the topic for now and ask her more about it once the appearance was all said and done. Wildwing had been more than happy to agree with the appearance when he had been informed that the school would have specially adapted facilities for disabled children and those with learning disabilities. Something, he had been informed by Jessica, was severely lacking in most schools on Earth, let alone Anaheim.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" A woman in her late thirties with sun kissed skin and chocolate brown hair announced in an accented voice, "I am delighted to welcome, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim!" There was a chorus of cheers that was almost deafening. Angel raised a brow in surprise. She had of course seen famous people on her vid screens on her ship, and when visiting various planets over the years. But she had never been this close to a crowd of screaming fans and they were all screaming for her new friends. It all seemed a bit surreal to her. Especially when several teenage kids were screaming Nosedive's name. She glanced at the blonde out of the corner of her eye to see the mallard taking the attention in his stride. He waved a some and winked at a few of the others. Angel inwardly frowned to herself when she felt a pang of jealousy. She, turned to watch as Wildwing stepped forward, still using a crutch to assist him in walking, causing Angel to make a mental note to offer her ship's medical unit to see if it could speed up the healing further for him.

"Thank you, Mrs Ramirez for your invite." Wildwing nodded to the woman who giggled like a schoolgirl and waved him off, "It's a pleasure to be here for the opening of such a forward-thinking school and…" As several cone like metal objects clattered across the tarmac before the stage, Wildwing stepped back and reached for his fiancé. There was an odd pulsing sound before the stage was surrounded by a force field. Wildwing and his team quick changed into their battle gear and surrounded Jessica and their host. Angel mimicked their actions by using her wrist pad. As they all reached for their weapons there was a cloud of mist that engulfed Angel. The girl's eyes rolled, and she collapsed to the ground.

"Angel!" Nosedive shouted but was stopped as a figure appeared in the mist. Tall, with long white hair and blood red eyes, the woman looked like a villain out of a shonen anime. She smiled at Nosedive.

"So, you are the one who has befriended little Anyuka." She addressed him.

"Who are you?" Wildwing demanded with one hand held out in front of Jessica, protectively. Whilst the other aiming his wrist blaster at her. Jessica peeked around his side but otherwise stayed firmly behind him.

"I am called Akane." She informed him. "Lady Akane, to you peasants." She added with a sneer, "Now before I do the same to you as I did to the whelp, I have a message for her." She looked directly at Nosedive who shook with a rage he didn't know he had, "Should you manage to escape my little trap, you tell the little slave girl, this; her days of playing hero are numbered."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Canard frowned.

"Slave girl?" Duke muttered, looking at Angel's prone form with a worried glance.

"You'll learn soon enough. And I can sense that he," She nodded to Nosedive who barely seemed to be containing himself, "knows exactly what I mean, and to whom this brat belongs." Nosedive roared and went to rush her.

"Dive no!" Wildwing bellowed.

"Foolish boy." With a wave of her hand, Nosedive was stopped in his tracks then lifted into the air. Invisible bonds held him spread eagled as he struggled against whatever held him in place, "You are lucky that I am a charitable woman." Nosedive growled in frustration as he continued to struggle. She walked closer and stroked his cheek with a grin, "My my, you can still move?" She studied him like a child would a new toy. "Not even my son is capable of moving when held in this spell. And yet you are able to muster the strength to struggle." Nosedive gave her a look of both confusion and fear as he realised, he couldn't break free. Akane turned to Angel's prone form, "What an interesting boy you've found Anyuka." With another wave of her hand, a mist engulfed Nosedive and he was motionless. His head dropping to his chest and his hair falling around it like curtains.

"Dive!" Wildwing limped forward but more mist surrounded the ducks and even Jessica. All fell to the ground in a heap. The only one left standing was Mrs Rodrigez who stood quivering to the left side of the stage. Watching on in horror.

"Please wake up!" The hostess whimpered as she shook Mallory and Canard's shoulders. Tears appeared at the corners of her eyes as Akane approached her before looking to the crowd, who were watching intently with bated breath.

"Hear me humans." The Amayan woman bellowed so that all could hear her. "Side yourselves with these creatures and you will be punished. When the time comes, they will not be able to protect you. Submit to your fate, for resistance is quite pointless. Of course, if you do choose to fight what is to come, then I will enjoy watching your kind fall to our rule!" She laughed as she disappeared in a flash of green light. The force field remained however, and the fans of the mighty Ducks could only watch through the shield as Mrs Rodrigues attempted to awaken the fallen heroes. Only taking their attention away as the authorities arrived, in response to the various calls they had received.

"Where the…" Nosedive looked around him and his stomach lurched. It didn't take his mind long to recognise the camps of Puckworld. He took several steps back and, on hitting a wall, he slid down and tried not to panic. He concentrated on his breathing and when he was sure he wasn't going to break down, "Wildwing?" He looked around for his big brother, the one who always kept him safe from the saurians. He was once again a young teen. Small, scrawny and helpless. Unable to fend for himself and reliant on the only family he knew for sure was still alive. But that family was nowhere to be seen. Nosedive sprung to his feet and ran for all he was worth, screaming his brother's name. It felt like forever as he ran through the crowds, searching for a face he recognised better than his own. He ignored the desolate faces of his people that lined the once prosperous streets of Ducaine City. A scream stopped him dead in his tracks. He knew that scream, he'd heard it before, but it had never been so terrifying as it was in that moment. Nosedive followed the screaming and as he turned a corner into the famous Drake square, he found the source. The ruined statue of Drake Ducaine sat in the centre and a crumpled body lay at the foot of said statue. Nosedive hesitated at the sight of departing saurian guards, knowing better than to draw their attention to his presence. Once they were out of sight, he approached the form cautiously. His breathing quickened as he got closer and took in the white feathers beneath the blood.

"Oh, gods no!" Nosedive felt like a vice was suddenly constricting his heart and he struggled to breath. He dropped to his knees, ghosting his hands over Wildwing's body, too afraid to touch him, "This can't be real!" He finally pulled his brother over and into his arms. Nosedive cried into his brother's neck as he rocked back and forth. "This can't be real!" He repeated, over and over again as he rocked his brother's corpse.

"Wildwing?" Jessica called as she wondered an open field. She rubbed her flat stomach and frowned. Part of her knew something was missing but she couldn't quite place what. She paid it no mind as she approached a blanket of mist. She looked behind her but saw nothing but rolling grass hills for as far as they eye could see. Not a woman to be put off by a little unusual weather, Jessica strode forward. As she reached the mist and it engulfed her up to the knees as it billowed around her. After a few moments, Jessica looked to her right and the mist parted slightly to show a small water source. Jessica saw her reflection and did a double take. She was dressed in an outfit she hadn't worn since she was in high school. She shook her head and continued on.

"You promise you won't race again, won't you?" She stopped dead in her tracks at the voice. She looked from left to the right, searching desperately through the mist for the owner of that voice. "I don't want you or our kid getting hurt." Jessica began jogging towards where she was sure the voice was coming from then stopped at another. Out of the corner of her eye, another pool showed her looking a few years older.

"I'm sorry Jessica." Jessica's breathing quickened. "I wanted to be with you forever, but…." Jessica spun around as the voices began speaking random sentences. Lines she vaguely remembered hearing before. Another pool appeared to her left, but she didn't dare look this time. The voices echoed in the milky mist and she whimpered before running away from them with her hands over her ears. She called out in surprise as she tripped over something. When she looked up, she had fallen into the centre of 9 graves, all in a circle. Her entire body shook in fear as she stood up and approached the two largest stones ahead of her. The one on the left had Eric's name. He had died years ago, and she knew this. But on the right made her cry out as if in agony. In large bold writing were the words Wildwing Flashblade. She glanced to the right to instantly regret the action as she spotted Molly's name and the word bean on another gravestone. The last caused her to wrap her arms around her stomach as her mind realised what was missing. Spinning around she saw the names of all her loved ones, even Nosedive and Charlie's names were there. Melting into existence, were more stones with the names of others, Mallory, Canard, even the names of Charlie's friends and Charlie's lover. These stones appeared beyond the circle with her immediate family and most treasured friends, but it made it no less heart wrenching. Jessica turned to Wildwing's grave and dropped to her knees. Staring at the earth, the blonde had one thought. " _Wildwing will know what to do!"_. She knew it was insane. She knew it wold likely screw her mind up to find whatever was beneath the earth in front of the gravestone, but her brain had slipped into a state of desperation that clouded her mind. So, she began clawing at the ground. She kept clawing even after her fingers were slick with blood.

Mallory entered the room cautiously. When she had found herself back in her family's bunker, a high security room built deep beneath their stately home with security and defences that could take out any intruder, Mallory had been very confused. Her mind was hazy. Almost as if she had a concussion, or perhaps had taken something to make her drowsy. She wondered through the halls in a daze and looked in a few of the rooms where belongings of family who had fallen during their fight to protect their beloved planet. The final room was her mothers.

"Are you going to keep your old mother waiting?" The voice caused a large lump to form in Malloy's throat. A shaky hand reached for the panel that would open the door and with a whoosh, the door was opened, and Mallory was staring into the dimly lit room. Mallory took a tentative step into the room and looked around. Everything was as she remembered. Medals earned by her brothers and father, even those earned by ancestors hung along the walls, as if a shrine to the fallen McMallards. She walked over to the far wall and looked at the large painting of her family. Her father stood in the middle with her mother. Her brothers stood either side of them as she stood in the middle, still too young at that point, for them to worry about her standing in anyone's way. The picture was so large it made the occupants of the painting almost life size. She smiled lovingly at the happy moment that had been frozen in time reminding those left behind of the good times.

It was at that point, that something caught her eye. She frowned as she looked closer at her image on the painting. Her hand went to her throat and she took a step back as she realised what had caught her eye. This painting had been created when she was only 5 years old. Her brothers were in their mid-teens at that point and had yet to do more than enrol in military school. She knew this painting. Mallory had seen it in their home on a daily basis. Instead of her grinning face, Mallory could see a slash across her throat, and it looked like someone had burnt the eyes off the painting. Making it look like she was some rotting corpse. Mallory took a few short steps back with a gasp as she still held her throat.

"I think it looks better that way." Mallory turned to her mother with a look of horror. "The boys never deserved to die. Such good boys. I never really wanted them to follow the family tradition. I would have preferred that they get normal jobs. That would have let them spend time with the families I know they would have found. But you," Mallory felt her back hit a wall and the red head shook as she realised, she couldn't simply run from this nightmare, "you lived and they died." The old woman glared at her daughter. "They left me and all I had left was you. A weak pathetic little girl who tried to play with the boys and got them killed!"

"No, I…" Mallory whimpered.

"I hate you!" He mother snapped, "I died because you were not enough! Worthless child!"

"Please…" Mallory whispered as she dropped to the floor and pulled her knees to her chin, "Please stop!"

Nosedive wasn't sure how long he sobbed over his brother's still form. It felt like an eternity to him. An image of a purple haired beauty flashed through his mind's eye, a portly human man, a woman with a purple mow hawk and her red headed friend behind the counter of a comic store. He stopped and looked down at his brother with a confused look, "It's not real!" He muttered his realisation. He gently laid down the body that looked disturbingly like his brother then got back to his feet and began walking.

In his mind he focused on the images that he'd seen. Images that triggered memories that he shouldn't have, at least not if he was still a teenager in the camps on Puckworld. After some time, he came across what looked like a temple. He looked left to right and realised that the city was nowhere to be seen. He stared at the temple in wonder. It was made into the peak of a mountain and was surrounded by snow and ice. There was no question that this was a place on his home planet, but he was sure that he had never been anywhere like it before. With a clunk and a loud creek, the heavy doors opened. Nosedive found his feet taking him inside. He made his way along a hallway and found himself in a room surrounded with hundreds of books. There was a pedestal in the centre that looked like it should be displaying something. But the glass was shattered, and it stood empty. To the side was what looked like some sort of staff. It too was displayed, but this was in a compartment in the wall, surrounded by the bookshelves. Another pedestal held a leather-bound book that looked ancient.

"Why am I seeing this?" Nosedive wondered aloud. He shook his head and began to wonder how he was going to get out of whatever he was trapped in. Then he remembered one of his lessons with Angel about meditation and the astral plain. "Can't hurt to try." He shrugged. So, sitting down and shifting into a lotus position, he took some calming breaths and tried to centre his mind. Something about what had happened in Ducaine City, was familiar. He had seen it all before. His eyes snapped open when he realised that the events were a recurring dream he used to have when Wildwing would allow the guards in the camps to take him to protect the younger Flashblade. This was his worst nightmare. To lose Wildwing whilst his beloved brother was allowing unspeakable things to happen to him just to protect him. Nosedive was pretty sure he was somehow trapped in his own mind but wasn't sure how to get out of it. It was then that he sensed someone else. The world around him melted and he was in a world of nothing but light.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36:**

 **Apologies for the late update. I have been struggling to get where I want to go with this. I know the main points of the story and just need to figure out how to get there. In the meantime, I have written several chapters and am uploading this one for now to at least let you know that this story is not on hiatus. Just getting a nice few chapters done so I can ensure that nothing needs to change between now and the next plot point. Anywho, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope to get more up soon. xx**

"Let me out!" Canard's familiar voice bellowed from somewhere in the blinding light.

"Canard?" Nosedive yelled.

"Nosedive?" Canard replied. "How'd you get trapped in limbo?! Did Draganus send you here too?!"

"Canard! Relax man, We're not in limbo." Dive walked forward ignoring that he appeared to be walking on air, "It's not real! Just a trippy dream. A really bad dream!" He added as he looked from side to side only to see nothingness.

"What?" Canard was coming into focus as Nosedive grew closer to the tan Mallard's voice.

"I said it's not real man!" Dive repeated. Canard then came into complete focus.

"What the hell is happening!" Canard asked as the pair finally reached each other, "And if this is a dream, then how are you in mine?"

"No idea." Nosedive shrugged. "But if I found your ugly mug, maybe I can find the others too."

"You think this is happening to them too?" Canard looked around him and shuddered at what had been his prison for 5 years.

"Makes sense," Nosedive shrugged as he sat down in the lotus position again, "and that Akane freak seemed to be talking about all of us so…"

"What are you doing?" Canard made a face, "You turning into Grin on us?" Canard quipped as Nosedive closed his eyes to once again meditate but he was shushed by the younger mallard. Canard simply rolled his eyes but looked around him as the scenery melted and they were in what looked like a cemetery. "Where are we now?"

"No idea." Nosedive got up and looked around. The pair heard crying from somewhere at the top of a hill. Nosedive didn't much care if Canard came with him and he simply walked in the direction of the soft crying. What he saw made him freeze. There was Jessica. No longer pregnant and surrounded by graves, Jessica was on her knees and was gently sobbing whilst muttering something. Her hands were covered in blood, and it was clear that she had been trying to dig at the ground before her. Nosedive furrowed his brow and nearly jumped out of his feathers when Canard whispered in his ear;

"What's she saying?" Canard shrugged at the glare he received.

"I don't know Canard," Nosedive rolled his eyes, "Maybe I could hear her, if you weren't muttering in my ear!"

"Okay, okay!" Canard held his hands up defensively, "Geese!"

"Come back!" Nosedive heard as he grew closer to the blond human, "Don't leave me here all alone! Please!" Nosedive looked around and sighed when he saw the names on the gravestones. All of the Fury family were there, even Molly. There was another whose dates were merely a few days apart, with the nickname of his unborn niece or nephew. And directly in front of Jessica was Eric and Wildwing's names.

"Nosedive." Canard said as he looked at some of the stones outside the circle in slight horror, "Everyone's names…, they're all here." Sure, enough he saw the names of all his teammates, including his own on the stones scattered around the grassy Knowle.

"Jessica?" Nosedive said gently. He stepped forward, into the circle, and placed a hand on Jessica's back. "It's okay." He said as she looked up at him with shocked eyes. "It's not real Jess. We're all okay." She stood up and with nothing but a sob she threw her arms around his neck and sobbed. "It's okay Jess," He said as he wrapped his arms around her and rubbed the woman's back, "Wildwing's here somewhere too, so we gotta go get him, okay?" He pushed her away a little so he could look into her eyes. "It's gonna be okay." She nodded, not really trusting herself to say anything and refusing to look at the gravestones anymore.

"Come here Fury." Canard offered a hand to her, "The brat has to do some crazy voodoo meditation crap to find the others. So, you'd better give him some space." Jessica allowed herself to be steered away from Nosedive who again sat in the lotus position. When the world shifted once more, they were in a warm looking room and a middle aged, frail woman sat in a large red armchair. Her hair was white save for a streak of red on the right side of her head, which was tied into what would have once been a neat bun.

"I never wanted you!" The elderly woman snapped to a shadowy corner. "I had my boys and you were a mistake. When they were killed…. well what more was there for me to live for?!"

"Please stop." A small voice said from the corner. Canard paled as he looked more closely at the woman. He had only ever seen computer images of her, and those pictures had been taken long before the illness that took Evelyn McMallard's life had wasted her away. He stepped forward this time. Carefully making his way towards the voice in the corner.

"You see!" Evelyn snapped, "Pathetic! Your brothers would never have acted so weak! And your father! Well!" The woman scoffed unkindly.

"Mallory?" Canard said quietly as he knelt down. He hadn't known his lover could curl up so small.

"She doesn't love me." She sobbed quietly as her grip tightened around her knees.

"Who cares what she thinks!" Canard snapped only causing Mallory to weep louder.

"You are a complete boob at times." Jessica sniffled, still not quite herself after being rescued from her own living nightmare. She knelt down beside Canard and place a hand on Mallory's knee.

"We've had this discussion before Mal." Jessica said quietly, "Remember, the nail technician. She said that your mom would have loved you. That she knew you'd be okay. That you were strong enough to survive where she wasn't, remember?"

"Yeah." Mallory nodded with a sniff as she wiped her eyes.

"Come on. This is all just a dream." Jessica held out a hand to Mallory who gladly took it and allowed Jessica to pull her to her feet. Jessica put an arm around her friend and led her past the nightmare image of Mallory's mother. Canard looked away for a moment, upset that he couldn't help his own girlfriend himself. He shook his head and trotted over to the others, choosing to file the thought for later and address it when they weren't living their nightmares.

Wildwing struggled against Draganus' iron grip. The saurian dragged the white mallard across the hard earth towards the edge of a cliff. He couldn't remember seeing them there as he had been approaching, but he was suddenly being tied to two posts. Each arm spread above his head and his ankles tied to the base of each post. Draganus didn't say a word the entire time and merely grinned, showing every deadly tooth as he stepped to the side and turned to survey the view below. Wildwing frowned as he followed the Saurian's gaze.

"You are responsible for this." Draganus finally spoke, before disappearing.

Wildwing's eyes went wide as he surveyed the scene below. He pulled on his chains and began screaming at the top of his lungs in frustration. This was how Nosedive and the others found him.

"No, please!" Wildwing begged, "Let me go! I have to help them! I can't just watch!" He screamed in frustration.

"This is his nightmare?" Jessica asked as she watched an image of herself with a small bundle in her arms and Molly at her side as Nosedive tried and failed to protect them. They would be slain, only for the images to reset themselves and for the horrific images of their slayings to happen again and again. Torturing Wildwing as he watched on. Helpless to stop any of it. She had to admit that it was harrowing to say the least.

"Yeah well," Nosedive looked away from the gruesome scenes playing out, "he always was afraid of failing everyone. It's why he's so damn anal about everything. Stands to reason he'd be afraid of something like this." Nosedive sighed as he approached his brother but stopped, Jessica was already at his brother's side.

"Wildwing. Listen to me." The blonde human placed her hands on his cheeks and forced the panicking mallard to look at her. Said mallard didn't seem to see her at first so Jessica leant forward and kissed his cheek, "I'm here Wildwing. All that down there. It's a lie. Something your mind is making up to scare you." She stroked his right cheek with her thumb, "So come back to me, okay?"

"What…what's going on?" Wildwing asked as the chains around his wrists and ankles disappeared. He stumbled forward and leant on Jessica for a moment whilst he steadied himself. "What's … what's that?!" He pointed a shaky finger at the scenes replaying below, resisting the urge to vomit.

"It's your own personal nightmare bro." Nosedive told him. "I don't know how, but Akane is making us all live through them. We've just got Duke and Angel to find. Then we can figure out how to wake up."

"So," Wildwing pulled Jessica into a tight hug but continued to address the others, "How exactly, are we all in this nightmare, and how do we get out?"

"Don't look at us!" Mallory replied. "Your brother's the one who's been finding us all." Mallory gave the blonde an odd look, but no one seemed to notice. Wildwing looked to his brother expectantly.

"Angel's taught me stuff about the astral plain." Dive shrugged, "It's kind of long winded, but she told me that your dreams can slip into the astral plane. I took a chance and I think that's what's happened here. You can find other energies in the astral plane too. It's kinda cool I pulled this off cause, I sure as hell never pulled it off in training." Nosedive rubbed his neck then saw the way the others were looking at him, "What?"

"When did you turn into Grin?" Wildwing smirked.

"That's what I said." Canard snorted.

"Shut up!" Nosedive blushed.

"So, we're missing Duke and Angel?" Jessica changed the subject.

"Looks that way." Canard responded as he looked around their surroundings that were now fading in and out thanks to Nosedive.

Duke shook his head as he backed away from the gruesome images of his wife and children. It had been a recurring nightmare he had been having for years. Only Jessica and dead men knew his secret and while the scene was terrifyingly realistic, he knew it was all in his mind. The return of his arm was a huge clue to the false nature of what he was seeing. He backed away then heard a whimper in the silence of his own nightmare. He frowned and turned a full circle listening for the whimper again. Duke took a deep breath, closed his eyes and listened carefully for the whimper. When he heard it again, he opened his eyes and began making his way towards the sound.

As he walked towards the sound, things began shifting. When the shifting ceased, he found himself in a dimly lit building. As he walked through the halls there was a feeling, he knew all too well. He had sensed it all too often when liberating his people from the camps on Puckworld. Fear emanated from the walls. A woman hurried past him, her head held down and the simple dress she wore did nothing to hide the may bruises and the ugly brand on her upper right arm. He heard muffled talking in a room up ahead and entered the room. Inside, the room was deceptively splendid, with a four-poster bed, tapestries and silk hanging from the walls and ceiling. On the bed was a mother and child. The child sat in front of what looked like her mother as the older woman pointed to words in a book. The child slowly spoke in an alien language as her mother pointed to each word. Duke had no doubt who the child was. There was no mistaking the purple hair, blood red eyes and markings on the child's face. He hadn't known the space pirate for long, but it was definitely Angel. The older woman could only be Angel's mother. Her hair was the same colour as Angel's and impossibly long, but her eyes were a midnight blue. Duke noted that, despite the poor condition the woman was in, she had a regal air about her.

Duke Jumped as a man burst through the door and marched over to the bed, but not before Angel's mother swiftly hid the book her daughter had been reading. She ushered Angel off the bed and the child ran to the corner of the room.

"You defy me at every turn woman!" The man bellowed. Duke narrowed his eyes at the man who seemed familiar, with his white hair and ice blue eyes.

"What are you talking about now, Misaru?" The woman, known as Hisanna asked, although Duke didn't know her name and made it a point to ask Angel if it didn't come up.

"I have told you before wretch!" He back handed Hisanna hard enough that she fell onto her side on the bed, "You are to address me as your Lord!"

"You are no one's Lord, Misaru." She told him defiantly as Hisanna rose again to sit up, "Most certainly not mine." With a feral growl, the man she had called Misaru advanced on her. Hisanna fought back weakly but he was a healthy man who was an obvious warrior. Whereas, Hisanna was smaller in frame and weakened by several years of obvious neglect. Duke took a step forward to help but looked away as she was violated and chose to search the room for Angel, knowing there was nothing he could do. It was only a memory, a nightmare. Duke had lost track of Angel as he had watched the exchange, and now he couldn't see the child anywhere.

"I will never be yours." Duke heard Hisanna gasp as the grey mallard continued to scan the room for the missing child.

Flesh meeting flesh snapped his attention back to Hisanna and Misaru. Misaru seemed to have snapped and was ruthlessly beating the woman beneath him. Blood splattered as he produced a knife and pierced her skin more than once. When this didn't seem to finish her, he threw the knife to the side and opted for wrapping his hands around Hisanna's neck. The purple haired woman gasped and weakly clawed at his hands as Misaru literally squeezed the life from her. Her eyes flickered to the left for a moment as if searching for her daughter one last time, but soon the life left her, and she lay still. Misaru breathed heavily as he backed away from the corpse of the woman he had just raped and murdered, his hands clenching and unclenching as he stood surveying his work.

"You brought it on yourself you wretched woman!" He spat before leaving the room in a hurried fashion. Duke watched him leave. He turned to survey Misaru's handiwork for a few minutes. Not aware of the company who had just joined him curtesy of Nosedive.

"Who…" Duke turned to See Canard staring at the woman in horror. Mallory stepped forward to get a better look and cringed.

"Purple hair." Jessica muttered as she placed a hand on Wildwing's upper arm as if trying to get him to come to the same conclusion as she just had.

"Who was it?" Canard demanded, earning an eye roll from Duke.

"Well, she's not a duck and she's got purple hair so I'm guessing that's Angel's mom." Nosedive almost growled. He turned to Duke with an almost desperate look, "Where..?"

"I lost track of where she went." Duke said with an apologetic tone, "I'm guessing she's hiding, but I didn't spot what direction she ran to. I was…kind of distracted." He admitted with a grimace.

"We need to find her." Nosedive said with an edge of panic in his voice. He began looking around the room, starting with under the bed and then looking under an ornate dressing table.

"That was Angel's mom?" Canard asked as he approached the corpse of Hisanna. "Who killed her?"

"Some guy she called, Misaru." Duke said as he helped Nosedive search. He stopped and looked at Nosedive with a worried expression at the youngest duck's frustrated growl.

"We'll find her bro." Wildwing said as he gently placed a hand on each of Nosedive's shoulders. "We just have to keep calm and think about this." Wildwing rubbed his brother's shoulders, "If we all look…" Wildwing frowned at the glassy look, suddenly on his brother's face. "Nosedive?" Wildwing stood to one side as Nosedive walked towards a tapestry to the left of the room as if in some kind of trance. The blonde knelt down and pulled the tapestry aside to reveal a tiny girl with filthy long purple hair. Nosedive came back to his senses with a gasp. Angel's body tensed the moment she sensed that she was exposed. "Hey Angel." Nosedive said gently. He held his hand out to her, but she whimpered and shuffled further away from him. She did however watch him with one of her blood red eyes. "This is just a bad dream Angel."

"Then mama isn't dead?" Angel asked hopefully with a sniffle. Nosedive sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry Angel." Nosedive told her sadly, "You know I can't tell you that. But this happened a long time ago and this… this is…" Nosedive struggled for words and Duke stepped forward.

"This is just a bad dream, makin' you relive this nightmare over and over." Duke said gently.

"But if mama is gone, then I'm all alone!" Angel whimpered.

"Never gonna happen!" Nosedive snapped, "You aren't alone! Not anymore. You got us!" Angel looked up at him with curious eyes then the child like image shimmered before disappearing. "Angel?!" Dive blinked then looked around in a panic.

"You weren't ever supposed to see this." They all turned to see the Angel they knew standing beside her mother, a hand ghosting over the corpse. "No one was."

"You watched it happen." Canard stated more than asked as he still had his eyes locked on the woman who bore an eerie resemblance to Angel. The tan feathered mallard felt sick to the stomach.

"Not all of it." Angel admitted. "My mother taught me to hide whenever our master appeared." She admitted, not even noticing she had called Misaru her master, something she hated to admit. "He knew I existed of course. But he only allowed me to live because he had plans for me when I was older."

"Plans?" Canard frowned but an elbow in the gut from Mallory stopped him from prying further.

"Angel," Nosedive brought her out of her trance like state and she turned to look at him, "I managed to find everyone but, I…I don't know how to wake us all up." Nosedive looked genuinely worried and Angel gave what she hoped was an encouraging smile.

"I'm impressed Dive," Angel said, "I'm not sure how to get us out either, but I do have an idea." She looked up to him with exhaustion obvious across her features, "I'll need your help though." She sat on the floor and waited for Nosedive to do the same. She then took his hands, and both closed their eyes. Wildwing noticed Angel's markings begin to glow an instant before he was sitting up, awake and only a little disorientated.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Mrs Ramirez said as she realised that everyone was awake. "Please tell me you know how to get us out of this!" She pointed to the force field. The ducks looked at each other but it was Angel that stepped forward. She pulled out her swords and thrust them into the shield. With a flicker the shield was no more, and they were free. Angel wobbled and nearly fell, but Nosedive and Duke were on either side of her in an instant. When they were both sure she wouldn't pass out, they steered her back to the group.

"Are you alright Mrs Ramirez?" Wildwing asked.

"Not a scratch," She said with a sigh of relief, "Who was that terrifying woman?"

"Woman?" Angel asked.

"Yes, a woman with white hair and red eyes." Mrs Ramirez told the girl, "She called you Anyu… Something." Angel paled and leant heavily on Nosedive.

"Why is she here?!" Angel muttered.

"She asked that Mr Nosedive pass you a message." Mrs Rodriguez said, looking expectantly at the blonde. Angel looked at Nosedive who returned her look with a frown.

"Why is it," A familiar red headed human approached them with a scowl, "That no matter what you do, I always end up with a mountain of paperwork?!" Cleghorn stuffed his hands in his coat pockets and scowled at them. "I want full statements from all of you." He said then indicated behind him where Wildwing recognised Jax approaching them, "Pretty sure they want to hear your statements as well. Especially given I hear some alien broad just threatened the planet!"

"Can't we give our statements from the pond?" Canard rolled his eyes.

"Footage of what happened is going viral." Jax said with a shrug. "The public wants to know that something is being done. So, we gotta be seen taking your statements along with the other witnesses."

"Well, can we at least give them to someone now?" Wildwing asked, "I'd like to get Jessica home soon." He looked to make sure his fiancé wasn't close enough to hear him, "She gets pretty tired at the moment."

Jessica glanced Wildwing's way as she rubbed her belly, she had an uneasy feeling and wanted to just get home. She had been uncomfortable all day and she wanted to see Tanya and Alex about it. She gasped as her stomach clenched and she leant heavily on the side of a cop car.

"Jess?" Duke approached her and placed his good hand on her back. His eyes became wide as Jessica double over with a groan. "Shit! Are you…?" Duke turned to look for Wildwing. "Yo Wildwing we gotta go!" He bellowed, drawing everyone's attention.

"I'm fine!" Jessica protested. But it wasn't very successful, particularly when she cried out immediately after. She almost dropped to her knees, but Nosedive grabbed her arm and helped keep her on her feet.

"Jessica?!" Wildwing was suddenly by her side to take over from Duke and Nosedive. He turned back to Cleghorn, "Captain, I…"

"Just go." Cleghorn rubbed his temples, "I'll think of something to tell the public. But don't think I won't be sending someone over to take those statements later." Wildwing nodded and picked Jessica up before rushing her back to the Migrator. His team following close behind.

"What do you think you're doing?" Canard snapped as Jax tried to board the Migrator with them.

"Coming with you." Jax sighed, "These people will see someone of authority going with you, so they won't talk so much. Plus, Lionel wants her to be kept safe and I need to make sure that happens."

"I don't…" Canard started.

"Canard!" Wildwing snapped, "Not now! If he wants to come with us, he can! We're supposed to be working with them, not against them! Stop being an ass!" Wildwing carefully settled Jessica into one of the chairs and buckled her in, then knelt beside her.

"Fine." Canard huffed and allowed the tall human to enter. Canard went to drive but realised Nosedive was already at the wheel and he had no intention of co-piloting with the blonde. The tan mallard simply sat down and glared at the invading human.

"Wing," Jessica panted, "it's too soon! What if I', miscarrying?!" She had her eyes closed against the pain but felt him pull her close to him.

"Shh. It'll be okay Jess." Wildwing soothed but he wasn't so sure himself. Inside he was in full panic mode about his child. He wasn't sure what was wrong so all he could do was try to keep Jessica still as his little brother drove like a maniac back to the pond.

Wildwing had Jessica in his arms and out the door before Nosedive even had a chance to even fully stop. The white mallard sprinted towards the infirmary where he knew Alex and Tanya were waiting. The others followed on behind and settled themselves down to wait in the rec room.

"Nosedive!" Molly shot across the room and threw herself at the blonde duck who caught her easily before sitting on the sofa with her in his lap. "Aunt Mary says mommy is sick!"

"We're not sure yet." Nosedive pulled the little girl into a hug. Dive noticed Moogie hop onto Angel's shoulder and rub Angel's chin with his head. "You okay, babe?" Dive placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and gave her a worried look.

"I'm fine." Angel gave him an unconvincing smile. Dive sighed and pulled her to his side and held her close resting his head on hers when he felt her lean her head on his shoulder. If Jessica hadn't been rushed into the infirmary, then he would have taken Angel somewhere to take her mind off the memories Akane had cruelly dragged to the surface. He made a mental note of speaking to Mookie about the pair having a girl's night. Something he was sure Angel would not have experienced yet.

"Anyone hungry?" Mary declared as she appeared with Toby strapped to her back and a couple of pizzas on large plates. Everyone looked up at her with grateful looks on their faces. "As soon as I heard I slipped out and picked us up some takeout." She smiled as she placed the pizza on the coffee table that sat between two large sofas. "I've got some pop too and plenty of hot drinks for anyone who wants to stay up to see what's going on." Mary glanced at Nosedive knowingly and the blonde smiled gratefully.

"Thanks Mary." Dive said glancing at the infirmary door. Canard switched the TV on as the others ate quietly. Jax sat to one side, but Mary made sure the man had some food as well and Mallory proceeded to grill him on Earth procedures and training. The pair talked until well into the night and when the two had finished they realised that Mary, Duke and Grin had retired for the night whilst everyone else had fallen asleep on the two large sofas. Mallory chuckled and went to fetch some blankets. Jax helped her cover the sleeping occupants of the room with them before taking one each and finding their own spots to get some sleep.

 **Well there it is! I hope you like it! Till the next chapter! Toodles xxx**


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37:**

 **I'm so sorry with how long this has been. My beautiful horse got very ill and passed just a few days ago. As you can imagine I have not been in the creative mood. I want to wish you a happy new year and I am working on a quick festive piece that will work alongside this story, but more of a one shot based on what I have been through. I will post this as soon as I am happy with it. For now, here is one more chapter to tide you over. xxx**

"Tell me about these Puckworlders." Akane demanded of Wraith when she found the elderly saurian surveying something on a vid-screen. Wraith turned to study her for a moment then turned back to the screen.

"Why would you not ask my lord Draganus about this?" He asked.

"Your lord is a blind fool." Akane sneered, "Anyone who would deny their mystical heritage deserves failure. His few successes were sheer luck!" She scoffed. "You on the other hand are skilled, despite your advanced years. I sense your power, and that cretin should treat you with more respect. No doubt you were quite the force to be reckoned with when you were in your prime."

"Ah yes." Wraith sighed, "Many feared my power but why are you so interested in the inhabitants of Puckworld?"

"The youngest, Nosedive was it?" Wraith nodded to her and she continued, "He was able to resist my power to a certain extent. Few can resist an Amayan mystic. The few that can, are often from mystical races themselves. Yet these ducks," She sneered as if speaking of the mighty ducks was beneath her, "seem to be more technologically inclined."

"Even I am not old enough to know for certain," Wraith began, "but there are stories of the ducks once possessing similar abilities to myself. Although, I am convinced their power was inferior, and I believe it was merely a select few. The stories say that they were enough of a threat to target in the original invasion carried out by my saurian ancestors. Before we were banished of course."

"I see," Akane tapped her chin with her forefinger, "and was there any evidence of such abilities when Draganus attacked this time around?"

"None." Wraith admitted, "Although, the mask Wildwing wears is a relic from the original saurian rule of Puckworld. However, that appears to be more technological as opposed to mystical. I could not tell you how they created it so long-ago though."

"And what of Puckworld?" Akane studied her nails for a moment, then looked up, "When those bird fowl chased you and your leader from his citadel, did their plan work? Is the planet truly free? Or are there saurians remaining there who will be keeping the people of Puckworld in check?"

"Forces remain on Puckworld." Wraith told her, "I believe Lord Draganus does communicate with them, but he rarely informs us of the status of our forces there." The saurian said with a hint of disgust for his master, "For all we know, what little is left of our comrades are within a Puckworld prison at the mercy of the Puckworld forces."

"I see." Akane said with a small smile. "Your files have information on Puckworld I presume?"

"Of course." Wraith brought up some files on the computer before him and stood to the side to allow her to browse as she wished. "You have yet to enlighten me as to why you are so curious about Puckworld my Lady."

"My dear Wraith," She gave him a sweet smile, "I haven't lived this long by placing my full trust in someone I have only known for such a short time. But I will say this;" She sifted through the electronic files, appearing more pleased as she did, "Your master seems incapable of ensuring all situations are planned for. To his credit, he is very sure of himself. But his confidence is also his greatest weakness. He has got by with brute force and luck to this point." Akane stepped away from the computer and looked at Wraith again, "I have my own plans that have been in motion for decades and I believe that my son's alliance with your Lord could result in those plans finally moving forward."

"Draganus will likely betray you the moment you are of no use to him." Wraith warned, surprising himself that he had potentially betrayed his lord and master.

"I would expect nothing less." Akane chuckled, "I would and will, do the same to him in a heartbeat." She added with a venomous edge.

"And yet you trust me enough to tell me this sliver of information." Wraith raised a brow.

"I am a very good judge of character, my dear Wraith." Akane said in a soothing tone, "You are beaten down, unappreciated and over worked. You master treats you as if you were a joke. And I am a kindred spirit of sorts. Someone who understands the talents you have nurtured through your lifetime. Someone who has also nurtured similar talents. While you are loyal to your Lord. That loyalty is wavering, and your curiosity is peaked." She moved closer in an almost sultry manner, "And if you are a true mystic, your desire to increase the power you hold, will override any loyalty you might have for Draganus." Wraith glared at her for several moments but eventually sighed.

"I would certainly be interested in exploring your methods." Wraith admitted. "Where do we start?"

"We start," She grinned, "by targeting that blonde mallard. I wish to understand why he was able to resist my power." She brought up an image of Nosedive on the screen and smiled at it.

"Given his relationship to the ducks' leader," Wraith smiled a toothy grin, "I am sure that Draganus would happily go along with such a plan without too many questions." Akane smiled and began discussing how they would acquire Nosedive.

"You're going to need to take it easy." Alex told his sister who clung to Wildwing like a distressed child.

"I can't see that anything is wrong with the baby at the moment." Alex said sombrely, "But you were bleeding. I don't think it's enough to have harmed the baby, but this is a cross species baby, so it is possible that I'm wrong."

"So, what can we do?" Wildwing said in a calm but slightly hoarse voice, betraying his worry.

"Sh... She needs to r…rest." Tanya said passing Jessica a glass of water which was taken gratefully. "The h...heartbe… heart is still beating str…strong."

"Which means nothing strenuous." Alex declared, "No lifting, only light walking and absolutely no skating alone."

"Okay." Jessica sad quietly, not only worrying her brother with her complete lack of protest, but Wildwing as well. Said mallard held her closer and rubber her arms.

"We'll get through this." He whispered.

"Do I have to stay in here?" Jessica asked without really addressing anyone in particular, "I'd really like to get some sleep in my own bed."

"Here." Tanya walked forward and held out her hand. "Let me l…look at your comm a minute." Jessica held out her hand and allowed Tanya to slip the watch like device off her wrist. The blond duck played around with the device for a few minutes before handing it back with a smile, "I've sy..syn…linked it with the medicom." Tanya turned to her leader, "It will make sure we know if there are any f... fur... other issues."

"Thanks Tanya." Wildwing smiled.

"Can we go to our room now?" Jessica asked Wing in a small voice.

"Sure." Wildwing stood and picked up Jessica bridal style.

"Wildwing." Alex caught the mallard's attention before the duck could leave with his sister, "We need to consider a caesarean." He looked to his sister, "When you've had some rest, I want to sit down with the two of you and discuss how we are going to bring this baby into the world."

"Sure Alex. Whatever keeps our baby alive." Jess smiled at him before Wildwing nodded and carried her towards their room. When they passed the rec room, Jess buried her head into Wildwing's chest.

"Wing?" Nosedive asked from the closest couch. The blonde dared not move because he had Molly asleep on his lap and Angel asleep at his side, resting her head on his shoulder. Wildwing didn't fail to notice that Angel appeared to be clinging to Nosedive's side in her sleep. She also appeared to have a grimace on her face as if she were having a bad dream.

"She's okay." Wildwing assured quietly, "She's just had a scare."

"The baby?" Dive tensed.

"Alive. But Jess needs to rest and not do anything strenuous till the baby comes." Wing repeated what they had been told. Wildwing's attention switched to the slumbering Angel for a few moments as the purple haired girl moaned softly in her sleep then grimaced. "Looks like she's having a nightmare." He commented with a frown. Jessica turned her head to look at Angel herself but didn't say anything. "She mention anything about earlier?"

"She's been pretty quiet." Dive replied with a shrug, "We were all pretty worried about Jess, so…"

"Well, okay." Wildwing said with a cautionary look to Angel before addressing his brother again, "If Molly wakes up send her to our room." Wing said before heading out of the room again, "I'm pretty sure Molly will appreciate it if she stays in with us tonight."

"Sure thing bro." Dive smiled shifting slightly as he felt Angel grip his shirt tighter. He looked down and rubber her back, "Hey." He said in what he hoped was a soothing voice, "it's okay Angel."

"Yusa." Angel mumbled, "Yusa myonika!" Nosedive frowned. He was sure she was speaking Amayan, but not knowing any he couldn't be sure. "Nyie!" Dive jumped as her eyes flung open and she pushed away from him as if scared. With a yelp, she fell off the couch and landed on her rear end with a grunt. Moogie yowled in surprise then sat to the side watching as his tail flicked from side to side.

"Angel?" Dive remembered last minute that Molly was on his lap. He gently shifted Molly then dropped to the floor and took Angel's shoulders. "Angel, come back to me." Dive whispered aware that the other sleeping occupants of the room were stirring.

"Nyie!" Angel screamed and backed away from an unseen foe.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" Canard stretched, seemingly not too concerned about whatever was upsetting Angel.

"Looks like a flashback to me." Jax chimed in as he gave the girl a sympathetic look.

"Is Angel having another of her bad dreams?" Molly asked sleepily from her spot on the couch.

"Yeah," Dive smiled at her, "I'll deal with it. Your mom is with Wing in their room. Why don't you go make sure they're okay?"

"Will she be okay?" Molly asked in a small voice.

"Come on you." Mallory got up and picked up the little girl. "Angel's a tough kid." She assured Molly, "She'll be fine. So, let's get you to your mom so you can get some more sleep."

"Okay." Molly replied and rested her head on Malory's shoulder. The red head smiled and disappeared.

"Yunaka mie…" Angel muttered as she pulled her knees to her chin and rocked slightly. Her eyes were wide, and tears formed at the edges.

"Kid?" Duke leant down and placed his flesh hand on her shoulder causing a reaction. Angel yelped and backed away again, her back hitting the wall. She curled up as small as she possibly could and Duke looked to Nosedive at a loss.

"It's okay." Dive said. "She just needs space."

"This has happened before, hasn't it?" Jax asked.

"Yeah." Dive replied. "Just leave me to it. I can help her, but she won't appreciate coming too with everyone here."

"I'm surprised the girl can function." Jax said, not intentionally ignoring Nosedive's request but staying out of genuine concern. "I've known men much older who have episodes like this who just shut themselves away. Some have ended it."

"Yeah well," Dive approached his friend, "She's different. Now, could you just leave us alone. Just for a little while?"

"Sure kid." Duke replied and turned to Jax, "I don't think any of us wanna drop you anywhere so I'll show ya where you can bunk for the rest of the night."

"Thanks." Jax replied and followed Duke. With a final look over his shoulder at Angel, he left with the older mallard. Canard made a face but left without saying anything. That just left Grin. Nosedive could only assume Mary had taken Toby to bed and retired for the night herself when they had all been asleep.

"She won't appreciate you being here Grin." Nosedive sighed.

"Her aura is dark." Grin said as cryptically as ever.

"Yeah well, she's been through hell." Dive knelt beside his friend and placed a hand on her cheek. "Angel?" He said quietly. She flinched but something in her seemed to recognise he wasn't a threat, "Come on babe." He brushed his thumb across her cheek to wipe a stray tear away, "Come back to me."

"Yousona kiyue Mama." She whispered in a small voice.

"I'm sorry Angel." Nosedive held his forehead to hers as she had once done to him. He didn't have the gifts she did, but he was hoping the simple touch would help. Grin stood and watched quietly from the corner as his young friend treated a person, he had been told was a terrifying warrior, like a delicate child. The scene would have been touching if it weren't for the reasoning for her episode, he had of course been filled in on what had happened at the museum opening earlier in the night. He didn't know the specific details, but he had been told what Angel's nightmare had been about something traumatic that had happened to her when she was very young that involved her mother.

"Nosedive?" Angel asked in a small voice. "I had another dream, didn't I?" She leant forward and pressed into his chest. "Why did I have to see that again? It took so long to get it out of my head!" She hiccupped as she cried quietly into Nosedive's chest.

"It's okay Angel." Nosedive held her close and rubbed her back. "You're not alone anymore. You don't have to be alone ever again." Angel cried a little harder as he held her close. Grin left as quietly as someone his size could, satisfied that his young friend did indeed have everything in hand. "Come on Angel." Dive said quietly, gaining her attention, "Let's get you to bed. You'll feel better after you've had some real sleep." Angel nodded her head and allowed Dive to help her to her feet and steer her towards the living quarters. Dive was surprised to be aware that someone was watching them from one of the doorways, but figured it was Duke and he could pat himself on the back for sensing the older mallard another time. Once he had got her into the room, he searched through the drawers and found her something more comfortable to sleep in. "I'm gonna get you a glass of water in case you get thirsty. I'm always thirsty after I've been crying." Angel just nodded and Dive returned to the rec room then slipped to the kitchen. He grabbed a glass and filled it with water then had a thought. Placing the glass down, he made sure there was some water in the kettle and flipped the switch.

"She okay?" Dive jumped at Duke's voice and inwardly cursed, thinking that the earlier sense had been a fluke.

"She's a little shaken." Nosedive replied taking down a couple of mugs then moving to another cupboard where his favourite hot chocolate powder was kept.

"You're pretty close ta her aren't ya?" Duke raised a brow when Dive tensed at the question.

"She doesn't really have anyone else." The blonde shrugged.

"She's got that cat thing of hers." Duke shrugged, "And I'm sure she has a few friends here and there kid." Duke raised a brow when Dive slammed the pot of hot chocolate down causing a puff of brown chocolate powder to rise from the open cardboard jar.

"She's a pirate Duke." Dive snapped, "It may be a label the Plutarkians gave her, but even the people she saves are scared of her! Some aren't," he added remembering the Catatonian who had been so grateful when they had saved Tanya and Charlie, "but most look at her like she's some kind of freak! Even when she's just risked her life to save them!"

"Kind of like how the humans reacted to us when we first got here? Huh, kid?" Duke gave a knowing smirk.

"Yeah, I guess." Dive said more quietly and went back to making the hot beverages.

"It's okay ta like her you know." Duke grinned. "She's a pretty girl and seems pretty smitten over you."

"She is not!" Nosedive cringed at the level of his voice, "She is not." He said more quietly, "She's just not used to having friends. Besides, it wouldn't matter if she did like me like that." Nosedive chose to ignore the way his heart clenched at the admission.

"Why not?" Duke asked with a brow raised glancing to the side as the door opened.

"Because I am pretty sure her mom was the Amayan Empress!" Dive clenched his fists and leant over the kitchen worktop heavily, "Which means she is way out of my league no matter how either of us feel!"

"Maybe you should talk to her about this, little brother?" Wildwing suggested from the doorway looking exhausted as the white mallard headed to the fridge and grabbed a couple of bottles of water. "She does seem pretty fond of you Dive."

"You see!" Duke nodded at Wildwing with a smile, "Even your big brother agrees with me!"

"What does it matter!" Dive snapped, "Weren't you listening Duke?!" Dive huffed and grabbed a small tray so he could carry the glasses of water and the mugs of hot chocolate. "Her mom was the empress of her world! Which means her dad was the emperor and she is a damn princess! Last I checked, I am the son of a singer and a cop! So, it doesn't matter if I like her or not! End of discussion!" Dive stormed off, getting more irritated that he couldn't leave as loudly as he wanted too in fear of spilling the drinks.

"Kid's got it bad." Duke sniggered in Wildwing's direction.

"Leave him alone Duke." Wildwing shrugged. "I'm willing to bet Angel will be the one to make the first move eventually."

"I don't know." Duke shrugged, "Your brother is like a watchdog for that kid! I'm willing ta bet he'll come ta his senses and just ask her eventually."

"Whatever you say Duke." Wildwing said tiredly.

"How's the spitfire?" Duke changed the subject.

"Sleeping." Wing shrugged, "She woke up for a few seconds saying she was thirsty then dropped off again with Molly snuggled up to her. I figured I would get a drink ready so she could have some water when she wakes up again."

"You got any sleep yerself?" The older drake asked.

"Not a wink." Wildwing replied yawning as if to emphasis the point. "I dropped off for a few minutes but then I dreamt Jess miscarried and the blood loss… Well, it woke me up pretty quickly."

"Jessica's tough Wing." Duke assured him with a comforting squeeze to the white mallard's shoulder. "And your kid is going to be a handful and a half if its parents are anything to go by!" Duke quipped with a wink. It took Wildwing a couple of moments for his brain to register the joke.

"Thanks Duke." He snorted.

"Anytime kid." Duke said as he watched his once again leader leave the room, "Anytime."

Nosedive carefully carried the tray along the hallway and used his elbow to press the button that would open the door to Angel's room. Once back inside he saw Angel was staring at the wall before her, with her knees pulled to her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around her legs.

"Angel?" Nosedive called to her gently. She jumped and looked at him like a deer in the headlights. Nosedive chose to file the fact that she hadn't sensed him coming for later and sat beside Angel on the bed. "Here." He passed her one of the hot chocolates with cream and marshmallows. She took the mug and looked at it apprehensively, "It's my drink of choice when I'm feeling down." He grinned, "It's good, I swear." Angel looked at him then at the drink before bringing the mug to her lips. She took a sip and made a humming noise in appreciation, but as she lowered the mug, Nosedive sniggered then flat out laughed. Angel realised her nose felt wet and realised that the cream had essentially painted her nose. She crossed her eyes to look at the offending cream, which only made the blonde laugh more, this time doubling over.

"It's not that funny!" She protested, but she had her own smirk on her face as she wiped the cream off.

"It so is!" Nosedive wiped his eyes and took a sip of his own.

"Yeah well," Angel rolled her eyes, "Not all of us are designed to drink whatever this is without certain appendages being put at risk." Nosedive laughed into his drink which proceeded to go down the wrong way and resulted in a coughing fit. Angel rolled her eyes again and slapped his back a few times to help him get the liquid out of his windpipe.

"Thanks Angel." He noticed she was smiling properly for the first time since they all came too from Akane's enchantment. "You feeling better?"

"A little." She replied taking one of the teaspoons from the tray Dive had placed on the bed between them and scooping the cream from the beverage and simply eating it, then finding the marshmallows and humming in her approval again. The pair drank their hot chocolate in silence for a while. "Thank you Nosedive."

"For what babe?" Dive placed his mug on the tray and accepting hers as she passed it to him. He placed the tray on the nearby table and ensured the water was close by for Angel to drink, should she want it.

"Never mind." Angel curled up in her bed and pulled the covers over her.

"Goodnight Angel." Nosedive said with a sigh, before picking up the tray and his own water, then going to leave.

"Stay." Angel said tensing as she waited for his reply. When none came, "I don't want to be alone right now and Moogie took off." Nosedive sighed again and put the tray back down before kicking off his boots. He got comfortable on the floor by the bed as he had done several times since first doing so on her ship. It felt like such a long time ago to him now, but it had only been half a year ago. He closed his eyes and waited for her arm to wrap around him like a giant plushie but instead he felt the bed behind him shift then opened his eyes as Angel began curling up on his lap and leaning against his chest. Nosedive's cheeks flushed.

"What are you doing Angel?" Nosedive asked quietly.

"Just hold me." She whispered, the request more like a mumble due to her face being buried in his chest. "Please." She added in a begging tone. Nosedive remained a little tense for a few moments but wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her comfortingly. The blonde mallard waited until he was sure she was asleep before putting her back into her bed and resuming his position on the floor and dropping off into a dreamless sleep.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38:**

The ducks stood on the platform with Angel at their side. Jessica was with them, Molly too, but the team and Angel flanked them to ensure nothing could get to her without going through them first. To their right, on the other side of the platform, stood Kyoza and his trusted bodyguards. They had been greeted by the president already who was currently droning on about the world leaders as a whole, granted not all, feeling it beneficial to ally themselves with the Galactic Alliance. That most governments already knew of other races, even before the ducks had arrived on their planet was a surprise to the ducks but they stayed silent. When he had finished, Kyoza moved forward to address the crowd before him and the world watching.

"My name is Kyoza." He started, "I am one of the high council members of the Galactic Alliance, often called by those who know us as the GA. I have come in person because I am aware that your experience of those not of your world are limited and I wished to reassure you all that we are indeed here to assist you. With your technology, your wellbeing and your safety. We have evidence that your world and perhaps the seven galaxies of our universe are in grave danger. Alone you would stand very little chance. Even with your feathered friends here assisting you." He nodded to the ducks behind him, "My fear is that any fight against such odds would be futile and slaughter or perhaps worse could be the result. We contacted your leaders some time ago and they have accepted our offer of aid. I am sure there are many of you who will be apprehensive of this and we will be sure to keep you all informed to keep your minds at ease." He looked behind him and smiled, "I would like to allow one of my trusted bodyguards to address you before we allow you to return to your day. I am quite sure you are bored to tears by now." The old man chuckled at his own joke. Kii'era stepped forward.

"People of Earth." She said calmly, "We have helped many planets now, as well as many refugees from planets who have been attacked before we could assist. We intend to ensure that we pass on what we have learned to people such as yourselves who will benefit, if only to ensure you do not fall victim to the same evil that many other planets in the 7 galaxies have fallen to." Duke tuned out at that point and turned to Angel.

"Do they always drone on like this?" He asked in a pained tone.

"Kii-era's in serious mode." Angel shrugged, "This is the first time I've had to stick around to the end though." Angel rolled her eyes as her feline friend told the humans more about what the GA could offer them. After what seemed like far too long Kii'era finished and the humans watching gave a reserved round of applause. The feline woman walked over to Angel and smirked.

"Could you have made it any more obvious you were bored." Kii'era shook her head but certainly didn't seem angry.

"Well if you and Kyoza had made those speeches more engaging maybe I wouldn't have been bored." Angel challenged.

"She has to be serious; her usual sparkling personality would scare the locals." Streaks snorted as she draped an arm over her partner's shoulder.

"And we couldn't leave it to you because you would just start blowing anyone up who dared interrupt." Kii'era scoffed.

"Yeah yeah, I'm not very diplomatic." Streaks raised her hands as if in defeat, "You don't have to rub it in."

"Don't feel bad Streaks." Kii'era gave the mouse a wicked grin, "It's a common occurrence amongst your race. You can't help it!" She added in a mock innocent tone.

"Whatever cat." Streaks scoffed, "At least I don't get distracted by balls of yarn."

"You have been watching way too much Earth media." Kii'era shook her head in disbelief at her comment. Then turned to Duke, "I've been meaning to discuss that arm of yours." She changed the subject and earned a glare from the eldest mallard. "Angel tells me that the creator is struggling to get it to move like a regular arm. Is that right?"

"Uh, well, yeah." Duke shrugged and gave a look of apprehension as the feline woman moved closer to him.

"May I take a quick look?" She asked looking at him with an unreadable look. Duke gave Angel a questioning glance.

"Trust me, you're lucky she asked first." Angel shrugged as she tried to keep a straight face, which was hard with the dirty look Kii'era gave her.

"I am not that bad." Kii'era pouted earning several laughs.

"My dear," Kyoza slapped her back, "you are a wonderful woman, but you lose all reason when it comes to technology." When Kii'era's nose went slightly pink the old man and Angel burst out laughing.

"Do you mind?" She turned to Duke again, choosing to simply ignore them, although she felt the eyes of Tanya on her.

"Why not." Duke shrugged and the arm awkwardly rose. Kii'era took gentle hold of the appendage and pulled out a small palm pad. She ran it along the arm and across the area of chest closest to said arm.

"Who created this arm for you?" The feline asked not taking her eyes off the arm and her pad, "It's quite advanced compared to the tech I have seen on this planet so far."

"A kid called Buzz." Duke scratched his cheek with his real hand feeling a bit uncomfortable being the centre of attention for his disability.

"Kid?" Kii'era raised a brow. "A child made this? How old is this child?"

"He's 15 now." Wilding supplied. The white mallard had just returned from finding Jessica a chair to sit on until they were ready to go. With a smile, Jessica gratefully sat down, and the white mallard picked up a tired Molly to hold her on his hip so the little blonde could rest her head on his shoulder. He doubted it would be long before Molly would be asleep.

"Impressive, even by our standards." Kii'era replied, then looked up at Duke, "However, as impressive it is, I doubt this arm serves its purpose. Am I right?" Duke's breath caught in his throat, then he looked away.

"No, it doesn't." He said quietly feeling ashamed at the admission.

"I can help with that." The woman assured him, finally releasing the arm. "Although I will want to meet with this Buzz to discuss his future. With a place at one of the universities on Falsus, he could flourish beyond anything he could imagine here."

"Are you already trying to increase your staff, cat?" Streaks laughed showing no animosity in her jab.

"If he wishes to join our ranks then that would be up to him." Kii'era huffed, "For now, I will settle for ensuring a boy with this kind of potential, gets the opportunities he deserves."

"So, the arm?" Duke reminded her.

"Oh, yes." Kii'era smiled, "It would involve a trip to Falsus." She held up her hand as Duke seemed to want to object, "We have recently finished a transport module up on our temporary moon base, so we would only need to get you there and the remainder of the travel would be almost instantaneous. Once there we can replace this arm for something that will look and feel more like the arm that you lost." She paused, "Of course, only if that's what you want."

"You kidding?!" Duke laughed bitterly, "Continue feeling like a useless lump, or get a working arm back so I can join my team in battle and on the ice again?" Duke ignored the incredulous look from Wildwing and continued, "If you think you can give me an arm that will be useful then I accept!"

"Now that's settled!" Kyoza clapped his hands together, "I suggest you and your team all join us on Falsus for a much-needed break. I will arrange for a team to stand in your place, in case anything should happen whilst you are gone." He then looked at Angel, "And I can discuss some matters with my former student." Angel raised a brow but didn't seem phased. "And you dear lady," He held a hand-out for Jessica, "You clearly need to return home to rest. So perhaps we can discuss this another time, when your day has not been so long."

"Um, thank you." Jessica said as the old man helped her up. Kyoza passed her to Wildwing who wrapped his spare arm around Jessica's shoulders protectively. Kyoza bowed slightly to them both and then began to leave.

"Come on ladies," Kyoza called his guards, "It's time to leave these people so they can return home." The ducks watched them leave and began to leave themselves, noticing that most of the officials had left some time before.

Tanya scanned the information on the screen before her. Her face looked like that of a child in a toy store as she took it all in. Her teammates and the handful of friends that they had invited to accompany them were all elsewhere, but Tanya had opted to stay with Duke, citing that it was partly her fault that Duke had lost his arm so she should be with him for the procedure. Kii'era had met them and introduced them to the doctor who would be carrying out the operation needed. She then left Duke with the medical staff to be prepped. Kii'era had taken Tanya to her lab in a neighbouring building and allowed the blonde duck free reign to explore and look at anything Tanya wanted. Tanya absorbed the information as she went and made mental notes of things that could seriously improve her own tech. Other mental notes were made relating to things she wanted to discuss with the feline woman to better understand what she was reading.

"See anything interesting?" Kii'era asked. Tanya jumped and turned in Kii'era's direction with a sheepish smile. She didn't quite trust herself to try and talk around someone she didn't know very well as yet, so she nodded. Angel had already warned Kii'era of Tanya's speech issues and the blue haired feline smiled before moving closer. "Wanna know more about anything?" Tanya paused and looked apprehensive. Kii'era came closer though and gave the blonde a kind look, "Angel told me you struggle with words sometimes." Kii'era commented. "If it's easier, why don't you just point out what you're curious about?" Tanya blushed but took a deep breath and pointed to a file that included information surrounding the teleportation technology developed by the Plutarkians. "I understand that your people don't have that kind of technology. Is that right?" Tanya nodded to confirm, "To my knowledge, this universe only has universal capabilities. But they have been working on interdimensional advancements, curtesy of that Draganus character. We haven't been able to obtain any form of intel surrounding this, which is irritating, but I have been writing my own notes and theories surrounding this." Kii'era looked at Tanya, "As someone who has actually experienced the technology in action, I would very much like to discuss those experiences with you. Not to mention swap any notes." Tanya blushed at this, "Obviously, I wouldn't want to impose in any way, and you might not feel up to it now but…"

"N..No, It's o…okay." Tanya stuttered and smiled at the woman beside her.

"That's great!" Kii-era beamed then brought up her notes. "Now, I have a theory that some Amayan technology might be the solution. More particularly, I think that the hyper drive systems in the old Amayan built battle cruisers, could prove to be the link to understanding this interdimensional technology." Kii'era kept bringing up more diagrams. Tanya recognised Angel's cherry red ship but there were diagrams of different technology that the blonde assumed was from inside the ship itself. "Little is known about how the technology was developed and the ships that remain with the technology are incredibly old. They were reserved for the emperor and his family as well as the highest-ranking members of the Imperial Guard. We have one former member on our staff, so I have been able to study one recently. The ability to move at hyper speed is beyond all other ship technology known to the 7 galaxies, and the methods of creating the ships were lost when Azmaria fell. Although enough can be garnered to repair the few that remain. When an Amayan ship goes into hyperspace," Kii'era brought up a small animation showing a ship similar to Angel's but was white with blue accents. This ship seemed to glow for a few moments before it looked like it was sucked into a portal. The portal looked like a tunnel. A tunnel that looked very familiar to Tanya. "I believe that the dimensional limbo that has been mentioned to us in recent months, is what the Amayans would call sub-space and this is what their ships pass through when they hyper jump."

"If th.. that's the c..case," Tanya took a deep breath, "Then their ships could have tele… tele… their ships could do what Draganus' ship can do!" Tanya stared in awe at the screen then looked to Kii'era, "Sh… Show me e..everything!" Kii'era grinned and began bringing up all of her files, then moved to a filing cabinet where she produced a note pad. This was given to Tanya as well. The two women, both avian and feline, sat down and began going through all of the theories and notes gathered so far. They talked well into the night and Tanya truly enjoyed herself for the first time since being kidnapped.

"Are you sure you don't want to take Kii'era up on her offer of getting one of their doctors to look at you?" Wildwing asked as they wondered around a park nearby to the GA HQ.

"Kii'era also said that she intends to be back and forth between Earth and Falsus and would speak with Alex and Tanya about interspecies births." Jessica chuckled, "Not to mention that Tanya nearly has all those upgrades finished. She told me that the tech schematics, taken from Angel's ship will make this baby as safe as can be. Now we have it at the pond too. So, for once in your life, stop fussing." She kissed his cheek with a smile.

"I am not fussing." Wildwing pouted at her, "I'm worried about you."

"I know that." Jessica rubbed her belly as the baby landed a good hard kick.

"Are you okay?!" Wildwing grabbed her shoulders as if she were about to collapse.

"So, help me Wildwing, I will ask Tanya to sedate you if you're not careful." Jessica rubbed her temples before taking a deep breath and regaining her composure. "Bean just kicked me is all." She said more calmly." Jessica watched as Molly was talking to several alien children of varying races before the small group went to play on a climbing frame. Satisfied her daughter was safe, Jessica led Wildwing by the hand to a bench where they could see the children play and sat him down. "Wing, you know that I am not glass right? I have had been pregnant before and, this one may be a little different, but..."

"But you could have lost bean when..." Wildwing tried to interject.

"Which was a particularly stressful and long day, that included me falling!" Jessica pointed out, "We all did, it's just I must have fallen on my stomach or something. Alex has already said that walking around like this is fine and I have not left the pond without an armed escort since." She laughed a little, "I am starting to feel a bit like a prisoner with how protective you're being." She held up a hand to stop him from interrupting again, "I know that's not why you're doing this and I kind of like how your being, to an extent. But even you're not fool proof."

"I don't want anything to happen to you or our baby Jess." Wildwing said quietly leaning towards her and resting his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes as if afraid to see her face and her reaction.

"I know Wildwing, and I love you for that." Jessica placed a finger beneath his beak and made him look at her, "But you need to stop worrying or you are going to have a heart attack before this baby even has the opportunity to attempt to come into this world! And trust me," She smirked, "That will not help keep me calm in the slightest." Wildwing laughed and nuzzled her neck.

"I love you Jess." He whispered.

"I love you too Wing." She replied.

Elsewhere, Angel led Mookie and Thrash into a Falsus equivalent of an arcade. Unlike arcades on Earth, this arcade was several stories high with a section for everything from games that were similar to the Earth computer games to entire rooms that emerged you into fictional worlds better than any virtual reality the pair had ever seen. The purple haired punk and her red-haired partner had stared in wonder for several minutes, not even noticing that Angel had left their side to pay for their entry into the building. Angel handed them some electronic passes with a grin.

"Why would Nosedive not want to be here?!" Thrash exclaimed.

"He wanted to finally try out his bike properly and Streaks offered to show him the best places to do it." Angel shrugged. "He's going to meet us here later so I can go see what Kyoza wanted." She told them as she led them to a room of games she thought they would find most familiar with to start them off, "That way you can spend as long as you like here." She added with a wink.

"Hell yeah!" Mookie whooped as she trotted ahead to look at the offerings in the room.

"These are probably the most similar to the arcade games Dive has shown me on Earth, so I figured we should start here." Angel supplied as she showed them how to use the cards she had given them to boot up the games.

"So, what's the rules for these things?" Thrash asked as he picked up some gear that the other gamers in the room were wearing and looked at it curiously.

"Easy," Angel said as she pulled on the gear slowly to ensure her friends could see how it was done, "beat the bad guys any way you can."

"So, a standard beat em up then!" Mookie laughed.

"Pretty much!" Angel chuckled.

Nosedive whooped as he gunned his engine along the desert sands as fast as his new ride would go. The blue racer beeped along with him as he pulled off a few tricks, curtesy of the powerful engine within his new bike. Streaks was close behind riding lazily but keeping up with very little effort. She had lent him a Martian helmet for the occasion, explaining that the atmosphere out of the city could affect some riders and the helmet would automatically adjust his air intake as well as offer better protection than his normal headgear. The helmet was just the right shape to accommodate his beak, although he suspected it would still be an issue for Wildwing's longer beak. The tan mouse had also given the bike a quick look over and showed Nosedive a few maintenance jobs he should do on a regular basis that was particular to the Martian design. Then she had produced her own bike and led the way to the Falsus wastelands where she advised him he could open the throttle up and see what his new bike could really do for the first time since acquiring it.

"All right," Streaks said over the helmet's in-built communicator, "before I die of boredom, you've got the bike," Nosedive could hear the smirk in her voice, "let's see if you've got the moves?" Streaks pulled level with him, "See that mountain range to the north?"

"Yeah?" Nosedive replied making a small jump over some rocks jutting out of the sands then glancing to his right again, once he had the bike under control again.

"Last one to reach the middle peak, buys the drinks tonight!" Streaks cackled as her engine roared and she left Nosedive for dust. "Let's rock and ride kid! Woo hoo!" The blonde duck blinked and leant down and patted his bike.

"You gonna put up with that?" He smirked to himself as the bike roared in a response. Dive got back into a better position on his new ride then opened the throttle and pressed the button Charlie had shown him, before the redhead had left with the Orion. The rear wheel suddenly moved at an incredible speed and Nosedive was moving at a rate he never thought his bike would ever manage. He was soon level with Streaks and the mouse nodded at him in approval before she encouraged her bike to go a little faster.

As they neared the mountain Nosedive saw that the terrain became patchy and there were huge gorges and crumbling paths up into the mountains that they were racing towards. Nosedive looked at his bike before leaning his body down to help with streamlining before hoping his bike would help him out and he remembered everything Charlie and Streaks had told him about what the AI marvels could do. As he approached the first gorge, Dive noticed a button flashing he frowned in confusion but pressed it and rocket boosters accelerated him even more, allowing him to make the jump easily. He maintained the speed to get along the first crumbling path before it could crumble beneath him. It was then that he noticed Streaks simply driving straight up the mountain that was their target.

"Can we do that?" Dive shouted to his bike. The bike beeped and the button from before began flashing along with another. He pressed the buttons in the order they began flashing and steered the vehicle to drive vertically up the mountain. "Awe man!" Dive whined, "We're gonna loose!" with a final burst of speed, his bike did everything it could to accelerate enough to beat their opponent, but they were too far behind and Streaks was sat sideways across her bike grinning at him as he skidded to a stop. "I call foul!" He laughed.

"I guess I could let you off the drinks for now." She winked.

"You're so kind." Nosedive laughed with a roll of his eyes.

"This is nice." Mallory sighed as she leant into Canard whilst they explored Falsus on foot.

"Hmn?" Canard looked down at her, "What did you say?"

"I said this was nice." Mallory scowled at him, "You agreed to treat this like a date Canard, and you aren't even here, are you?"

"Sorry Mallory," Canard scratched his neck, "I guess I just think we should still be on Earth."

"And we have perfectly suitable replacements whilst we're away. Actually, qualified ones too!" Mallory rubbed her temples, "For the first time ever, we are getting to have a real date without fear of being attacked or being swamped by fans and all you can think about is work!" Mallory pouted and let his arm go, crossing her arms instead.

"Mallory, don't be like that!" Canard almost whined.

"You complain about Nosedive all the time," the red head snapped, "but you can be just as childish! You know that?"

"I'm nothing like that brat!" He snapped angrily. He paused and took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm sorry Mallory. I'm just on edge. We still don't know exactly what Draganus is planning and I'm pretty sure that small team on Earth aren't going to be able to stand up to a saurian invasion, no matter how good they are."

"Neither would we." Mallory pointed out with a brow raised.

"No, but where do you think Draganus plans to go as soon as Earth is under his control?" Canard scowled, "Puckworld! At least if we make a stand we've done something!"

"And if we die making that stand," Mallory sighed, "we won't help our home at all, or Earth for that matter!"

"But at least we did something." Canard looked to the side bitterly. A small hand on his cheek brought his attention back to Mallory.

"It's twenty-four hours." She said, "I know a lot can happen in that time, but after everything we've all been through, I think we've earned that." She nuzzled him gently, "don't you?" Canard's face softened and he pulled Mallory to his side.

"Good thing they gave us money to spend," He smirked, "I guess Angel and her connections are good for something."

"Canard!" Mallory slapped his shoulder but chuckled, nonetheless.

Grin had wondered the city before finding himself a small park that was close to a more run-down area of the city. Children played in the streets, as adults went about their day, doing chores and selling their wares. Despite the bustling community Grin found the atmosphere calming.

"Hey mister?" Grin turned to see a little white and brow mouse staring up at him. The little boy was flanked by other mice, some bird like children, feline children and other species' with various coloured skins and appearances. There were even two Amayan children. Grin counted at least twenty children gathered around him, looking up at him curiously. Grin smiled down at the boy who addressed him. "Where are you from? I've seen all sorts of people and I've never seen anyone like you mister."

"I am from a planet called Puckworld." Grin told them.

"Where is that?" A little onyx skinned child asked him, taking their thumb out of their mouth long enough to do so, but swiftly replacing it back in their mouth when the question was raised.

"It is in another dimension." Grin answered and could tell this confused many of the children, "It is a little confusing. But my friends and I are the only ones of our kind in this universe because we cannot get home to our planet or our own dimension. It takes a very special teleportation device to get us there and only our enemies have that technology." One of the Amyan children stepped forward and took his hand.

"Did the Plutarkians take your planet too?" She asked sadly.

"It's okay," an older Amayan boy said confidently placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, "the space pirate Angel and the Silver Sabre are gonna kick the Plutarkian yellow bellies to the ends of the universe where they can't hurt anyone else ever again!"

"Yeah!" A female mouse stepped forward, brushing her mop of brown hair out of her brown furred face, "And the Biker Mice will help too!" She grinned.

"These are your heroes?" Grin asked.

"Yeah," Growled a Catatonian defensively, "What of it!"

"Will you tell me about them?" Grin asked pointing to a small patch of grass with a single tree on the corner of a street. He walked over to the tree then sat down in the lotus position beneath it. The children looked at each other, looking unsure at first. Then they all ran forward and sat down around him. One by one, children began telling him the tales of both people he knew and people he had herd stories of but had not yet met.

 **So, I started the one shot mentioned in the previous chapter then realised it would contain spoilers. As such I am trying to proofread all the chapters that are needed to ensure that certain things are still kept as a surprise for you. Hopefully will get another up soon. Angel xx**


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39:**

Angel walked through the GA HQ at a brisk pace. She knew where she was headed, and she had no intention of being stopped by anyone on the way. Of course, many of the people in the facility knew better than to speak to her unless she spoke to them. She turned a corner and approached a lift. Entering the lift, she programmed it to take her to the place she needed to be. Unlike the lifts on Earth, this would go sideways, as well as up and down. When the lift opened again, she made her way out and headed to the large doors in front of her. She knocked and waited for the invitation to enter. She approached the desk, placed her fist in her left palm and bowed to her former teacher.

"If Akane is on Earth," Kyoza stood by the window of his office, staring out the window, "You are in danger." He turned and looked at his student. "You need to be prepared for what you are to face."

"I am fully capable…" Angel began defensively.

"She is one of the strongest mystics of our kind." Kyoza interjected, "Second only to yo… To the emperor." He sighed, "I cannot teach you the mystic ways. At least not in the way that you should be taught. All I can do, is provide you with as much information as I can surrounding your mystical heritage."

"Information?" Angel looked at him curiously.

"Follow me." Kyoza said and took his staff before heading to the right side of his room. Pausing only to ensure that Angel was indeed following, Kyoza pressed a button on the wall to reveal a room. He walked inside, "This is a library that I have gathered over the years, not only of our history, but our traditions and mysticism. There are tomes here that tell stories long since forgotten by our people. Stories lost long before our planet was taken from us."

"I can't read all this in the time I have here." Angel stared at all of the books and scrolls surrounding her in awe.

"And I would not expect you to." Kyoza chuckled. He stepped forward and pressed a button on a small computer. A storage device popped out of the computer and he held it out to her. "All of the information in this library, has been stored here as well. I have taken the liberty of ensuring that anything in ancient Amayan has a translated version as well."

"Why do you care so much?" Angel asked as she took the device with a frown. The old man placed a finger beneath her chin and made the teen look at him.

"You give our people hope." He told her, "And I would be a terrible teacher, if I were to not do something to help the best student I have ever trained." He smiled at her blush, "Whatever that woman has planned must not come to pass. And her husband and son must not be allowed to continue to shed the blood they spill so easily."

"I will bring them to justice teacher." Angel bowed again, "I swear it."

"I do not doubt." He chuckled. "Now, go and be with your new friends. It gives this old coot such happiness to see you smile so often." Angel blushed and hurried off leaving the old man behind.

"Even you can't protect her from those monsters." Yurio stepped out of the darkness with Mimosa by his side.

"But perhaps she can protect herself." Kyoza replied, his tone betraying the fact that even he didn't believe this.

"We should be by her side protecting her!" Mimosa said tersely. "She's Hisanna's daughter!"

"I am well aware of that." Kyoza said calmly. "But we cannot know what will happen if it becomes common knowledge amongst our people that one of Hisanna and Kaoru's children survived!"

"They would want to protect her as well!" Yurio argued.

"Yes," Kyoza raised his voice only slightly, "But this could also result in Akane and that son of hers in persuading their allies to bring their plans forward. This would be devastating for the planet Earth and possibly this entire universe."

"So, you would risk Hisanna's girl for Ear…?" Yurio started but was stopped by Kyoza slamming his staff to the ground.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Kyoza told them angrily. "When we have a stronger force in the Teran sectors, perhaps we can risk being more open in protecting her. But for now, all we can do is make sure she is prep…" Mimosa was suddenly holding him against the far wall. The old man did nothing to stop her and didn't appear surprised.

"Mark my words old man!" She growled, "I may have failed Hissana, but I will not fail her daughter!" She roughly threw him to the ground, "I will follow your plan, for now. But if anything happens to that child that we could have prevented, I will hold you personally responsible!"

"Mimi." Yurio placed a hand on her shoulder, "His hands are tied. There is very little he can do as a high council member."

"I'm not." Mimosa growled at him.

"And you will be in just as much danger from Akane as Angel." Yurio tried to reason, "Akane hates you almost as much as she did Hisanna."

"I am not scared of that woman!" Mimosa declared.

"You should be!" Yurio snapped. "You know as well as I do what she is capable of. The lengths she'll go to, to get what she wants." Mimosa narrowed her eyes and yanked her shoulder way from Yurio's grip. "I knew Hisanna almost as well as you did." He said more calmly, "She would want you to think of Kimaya. You make a move against Akane and she will target Kim." Mimosa sighed and with that sigh the tension left her body.

"I still don't like it." She grumbled.

"Nor do we." Kyoza said sombrely, "But for now it is our only way forward to protect the lives around Angel, not to mention Angel's own life."

"Hey book worm." Nosedive greeted Angel when he found her reading on a sofa in Kii-era's lab, "You ready to go?"

"Sure." Angel said switching the holo reader off and standing up with a yawn.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" Dive asked her with a frown. Angel blinked and looked at the clock.

"I may have been reading all night." She shrugged in a sheepish manner. "Kyoza let me have electronic copies of what's left of the written history of my people, which includes information surrounding the mystical side of Amayans."

"Cool." the blonde smiled at her, "You still gotta sleep though." He added with a wink. Angel rolled her eyes and poked his side.

"I am aware of that goofball." She chuckled, "How's Duke?"

"Out of surgery but still sleeping." Nosedive replied. "Kii'era says she wants him to stay on a few days anyway and Tanya's gonna stay with him. She says it's to keep an eye on Duke, but I'm pretty sure she'll be soaking up anything she can find on the tech here!" Dive laughed, "Kinda like you with your new books." Dive winked then paused, "Did you ever do anything with that motherboard you found in the palace?"

"No actually." Angel replied, "In fact, I'm not even sure where I stored it." She laughed at herself, "Guess I should find it huh?"

"Could have more info on it for you to read." Dive shrugged. "Maybe something on how to use your powers like Akane uses hers?"

"Maybe." Angel shrugged and got to her feet. She and Nosedive walked side by side towards the transport hanger in comfortable silence. This silence was only interrupted by the occasional yawn from Angel.

"Angel?" Dive asked quietly as they walked through the halls.

"Hmn?" Angel rubbed her eyes and made no complaint when Nosedive placed an arm around her shoulders. She leant her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, allowing him to lead her through the hallways.

"When we were on Azmaria I saw a painting…" Dive started.

"If you want to know if the woman in the painting was my mother," Angel said with a small frown, "I don't know." She pulled away, but only slightly. "I suppose the woman I remember does look a little like the woman in the painting. But the memories I have are of a woman who was malnourished and regularly beaten. She had the same hair colour, eye colour, even the same name, but she never once mentioned to me that I was a princess. She only ever called me her little Angel." Angel made a face of disgust and added, "The only people who ever used my given name were my masters."

"You told me you knew your family was important and that's why your mom was taken," Dive pointed out squeezing her shoulders in what he hoped was a comforting manner, "you think that…"

"I don't know." Angel said, "And even if I did, I'm not sure I want my mother to have been the empress."

"Why not?" Nosedive asked as they rounded the corner and entered the transporter room, where the others were waiting for them.

"If my mother is Hisanna the empress and not Hisanna the slave," Angel said quite enough for only Nosedive to hear, "then I… I lost a lot more than I ever thought I did. If I am a princess then I should have grown up with siblings, a huge family. I never got to experience that and…" She frowned and leant into his shoulder again. Nosedive ignored the stares he was getting from Canard and Mallory and pulled Angel into a hug.

"You are definitely overtired." Dive sighed as he squeezed her comfortingly.

"I am not overtired." Nosedive could hear the pout in Angel's voice and sniggered.

"Sure, you're not." Dive shook his head in disbelief.

"Let's just go home." Angel mumbled; her face still buried in his chest. She daren't remove her face as she was sure that she had a furious blush which was not helped by how much she was enjoying being hugged by her blonde friend.

"She okay?" Jessica asked as she and Wildwing joined them in the transport room.

"She's just tired." Nosedive shrugged holding her a little tighter when he felt Angel tense in discomfort.

"This has been a most enjoyable respite." Grin declared calmly with a small smile on his beak as he entered the room.

"It was so much fun!" Molly pipped up as she swung from Wildwing and Jessica's hands. "We went to a park and I played with all these really cool kids, then we went to this carnival place with lots of rides and Wildwing took me on all the ones I was big enough to ride. And then, we…."

"We get it kid!" Canard rubbed his temples, looking like he was a little worse for wear. "Do you have to be so damn loud?"

"You're such an ass." Angel said crabbily as she finally pulled away to glare at the tan Mallard, "You couldn't wait two seconds to let her finish?"

"Like you were listening whilst you were coping a feel of Nosedive over there." Canard rolled his eyes. He didn't see her move; all he knew was one minute he was shaking his head and the next he was pinned against the wall with an energy blade to his throat. Mallory pulled her blaster on instinct and aimed it at Angel.

"Let's get one thing straight," Angel said dangerously as she balanced on the edges of two tables to give her the height to be face to beak with the mallard, "I'm not a hero like you. Push me the wrong way and you will regret it." Canard gulped at the cold eyes that glared at him.

"Angel," Nosedive said with his own glare at Canard, "Back off him. He's not worth it." Angel growled again but complied before returning her blade to its hiding spot behind her back.

"Crazy brat." Canard scowled at her.

"That's enough Canard!" Wildwing snapped with his own glare aimed at his friend.

"Let's just go home." Jessica sighed wrapping an arm around a now very quiet Molly.

"Where's Tanya?" Mallory asked checking her watch.

"She's sticking around here for a while." Wildwing informed them.

"What?" Canard perked up, "Why?!"

"Because," Wildwing looked his friend in the eye, "She thinks someone should be here for Duke. She blames herself for the arm he lost." Wildwing shrugged implying he didn't agree with her. "And after everything she has been through over the past year I am not going to deny her the request. So, I don't want to hear any arguments Canard." Wildwing looked at his friend with a challenging look. Canard narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

"Tauny also mentioned that she and Kii'era were discussing theories behind Saurian teleportation technology." Jessica informed them, "She thinks she and Kii'era might be able to find you all a way home." Jessica rubbed her belly looking increasingly uncomfortable.

"Really?" Nosedive stepped forward, "She say how?"

"Something about the hyperdrive in Angel's ship." Jessica shrugged, "Sorry, Charlie would have understood, but I kind of switched off."

"Kii'era is always fascinated with my people's tech." Angel scratched her right cheek absentmindedly. "There's not a lot left and some of it is shrouded in mystery. Regular Amayans generally didn't know how it worked. I'm not even sure anyone did. Ships like mine were built centuries ago. Part of the mystery is how they continue to work despite their age. Another is the hyperdrive. No one alive knows exactly how they work which is why there are no new Amayan ships despite surviving mechanics and engineers from my race still practicing their trades."

"Are you ready to go?" A Young grey furred Martian interrupted them. Mookie, Thrash and Alex's family joined them having been led there by the said Martian.

"Uh, yeah." Wildwing nodded, "We're ready." He added with a smile.

The small group piled into the transport module and within moments they were in the Moon base. They travelled to Angel's ship in relative silence and within an hour they were all back at the pond, separating to retire for the evening. Wildwing saw Jessica and Molly to bed before making his way to the ready room where he found an Amayan woman in her mid-twenties sat at Drake One. Her hair was tied into twin buns towards the back of her head with some of her hair hanging from the buns and down her back.

"Reika, right?" Wildwing asked as he approached her. She turned to him with her deep blue eyes and smiled at him.

"That's me!" She grinned. "And you're Wildwing, if I remember right."

"That's right." Wildwing returned her smile, at ease with the woman quickly thanks to her easy-going nature. "Any problems?"

"The rest of the team went out on a couple of recon missions." She told him as she typed at Drake One's keyboard, bringing up maps with blinking dots, "there were teleportation signatures from these locations. Each time a new signal appears, there is nothing at the location when teams get there. We're looking into it, so you guys need not worry till you have all had some proper rest for a change." She smiled at him in a friendly manner.

"Well that sounds like Draganus." Wildwing rubbed his beak, "I wonder if he's testing something."

"That's what the boss thinks." Reika replied, "We even got that Jax guy and his team to check a couple out to see if we could get to others more quickly. Whatever is going on, they're keeping one step ahead of us. But I've asked the Moon Base to scan for signatures too, in case they can pick them up quicker than we can." She finished.

"Thanks, Rieka." Wildwing said, "Let your team know we're back, and you may as well clock off when they return. We can take over from here."

"You kidding?" She gave him an incredulous look. "Like I said, we're here to help and you guys should get a good night's sleep. We can crash in our ship, but you're stuck with us now!" She winked. Wildwing laughed but stopped at the sound of his com unit.

"Jess?" He asked the moment he realised who was contacting him and instantly wondering why she was calling.

"Wing?" He could hear the fear in her voice. "Wing the baby… Unghh." Wildwing's face dropped and took off at a sprint. Reika turned and contacted Alex on the communications system, asking him to come to the infirmary. Having only met him briefly she apologised profusely for waking him and was thankful to realise the human had stayed at the pond with his family that night.

"Put her on the bed." Alex who arrived in the infirmary moments before Wildwing with his sister, instructed. Wildwing did as he was told and stayed at Jessica's side, holding her hand tightly. Alex hooked Jessica up to a few things and instructed Wildwing to remove Jessica's clothing and replace it with a medical gown. Wildwing did as he was told and soon had Jessica changed and only left her side long enough to place the clothes she had been wearing on the other bed, and to turn the heating in the room up to ensure his beloved wouldn't get cold in the limited clothing.

"This baby is on the way." Alex stated the obvious. "It's not too far gone to deliver this by C section. And I would still prefer that we deliver this baby that way." He took a deep breath, "But it's your baby. So, it's up to you. At present," He carried on before they could answer, "the baby is not distressed in any way, it's facing the right way and there is nothing to suggest that this baby will be harmed by a natural birth. But there is still a possibility."

"Do whatever you need to do Alex." Jessica panted, trying to breath as she had been taught to do when she had Molly, "Just get on with it!" She added impatiently gripping Wildwing's hand in a death grip as a contraction started. She yelled out in pain and tried not to push in case this caused an issue. It was at this point, that Mary rushed in.

"Sorry, I woke Grin up and asked him to watch Toby and Molly for us." She said. "What are we doing, natural or c birth?"

"A human body may not be able to cope with the altered shape of this baby," Alex said more to himself than anyone else, "I think a caesarean is the better choice for both mother and child. At least this time around."

"Right," Mary nodded, "so epidural and we need a screen. Mary looked around the infirmary to where she knew Tanya and Alex had stored the items they would likely need. Alex prepared the injection to numb his sister's lower half. He got Wildwing to assist in helping Jessica shift forward to allow him to insert the epidural catheter and before long Jessica was lain back down and a screen was placed carefully to ensure Jessica could not see what Alex was about to do. Of course, Wildwing was still able to see and he had to look away as Alex began to make the incision that would assist in removing his precious child from his equally precious fiancé. His hand tightened around Jessica's and he nuzzled her as Alex and Mary worked. After what felt like forever to him, Wildwing's head snapped back to Alex who held a wailing tiny pink bundle in his hands. Mary quickly wrapped the bundle in a warm towel and smiled at the tiny little bird like creature. Like earth birds, his kind were born without feathers, so Wildwing didn't find it strange that his child was covered in soft pink skin. Unlike earth birds, Wildwing's race were more like humans, in that their eyes opened relatively quickly. His son's beak was a little longer than most ducklings, just like his was. Unlike the ducks, his child had five fingers on each hand and presumably had the same on his feet, "Congratulations, Wildwing, Jessica" Mary beamed, "you have a son!" Mary passed the small bundle to a numb Wildwing who looked down at the infant in his arms. The little boy he and Jessica had created.

"He's perfect." Wildwing breathed as he turned to pass their boy to Jessica. Said woman smiled down at her son and allowed the child to suckle on her breast, to make sure he had those precious antibodies that were released in the mother's first milk. Wildwing sat on the bed beside her and wrapped one arm around Jessica as she fed their son. Jessica leant into him and kissed his neck as the white drake stroked his new-born's head gently.

"The effects of the epidural will wear off after a few hours." Alex told his sister, "let me know if you suffer from any dizziness or nausea in that time." Alex removed his gloves and placed them in the incinerator before also removing his scrubs. "When you've finished feeding, give me a shout. I want to look him over and make sure the medicom can't find anything wrong with him."

"Okay." Jessica replied sounding more than a little distracted.

"Come on Mary," Alex said with a snort, "Let's leave them to it for a few minutes whilst we tell the others we have new addition to the team." Alex added with a wink.

"I have a son." Wildwing breathed looking at the child, his child in awe.

"What do we name him?" Jessica asked as she shifted him slightly to make sure her son knew to take a breath every now and again.

"I… I hadn't really thought about it." Wildwing said sheepishly. Jessica laughed at him.

"Well, he's a duck so I suppose he should have a name from your world. I know there are some names that are the same as ours, but something more common to just Puckworld?" She looked up at him with a questioning look.

"I…" Wildwing suddenly felt lost. He couldn't think of anything.

"What about your dad's name?" Jessica prompted with a smile. "In honour of him?" Wildwing linked at her.

"Jetstream?" Wing asked, receiving a nod.

"We could call him Jet for short." Jessica suggested. Wildwing's heart swelled as he looked at his fiancé.

"Are you sure?" Wildwing asked.

"Name my son after my hero and husband to be?" Jessica smirked. "I'm sure Wildwing." She added with a laugh.

"Jet." Wildwing smiled down at his newly named son.

"Hey!" Nosedive burst through the doors making the couple jump and the infant begin to wail. "Sorry, sorry!" Nosedive added sheepishly at the twin glares he received. "But I hear I'm an uncle!"

"Come meet your nephew Dive." Wildwing smiled and watched as his brother moved to the other side of Jessica and looked at his nephew.

"Hey little dude!" Nosedive grinned down at Jet, "I'm your uncle Dive." The blonde looked up, "Did you name him yet?"

"Jetstream." Wildwing beamed proudly.

"After dad?" Dive grinned and looked to Jessica for confirmation.

"Of course." Jessica smiled.

"Sweet!" Nosedive almost cheered but managed to keep the volume down for a bit.

"I have a brother!" Molly squealed as she dashed into the room and jumped up and down trying to see her new family member. "Can I see him?" Wildwing smiled and picked her up allowing her to see little Jet for the first time. "Hi baby brother!" Molly grinned copying the way Wildwing addressed his own brother, which was not missed by either male in the room, which resulted in their smiling at each other. Wildwing set Molly down on the bed beside her mother and Molly curled up into Jessica's side. "I'm gonna be the best big sister ever!" Molly declared far more quietly than she had been speaking before, "Just like Wildwing is the best big brother ever." Wildwing went a little red at the comment as Jessica and Nosedive beamed and looked at his reaction, but his heart swelled for Molly and at that moment. He knew he was the luckiest duck in any dimension.


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40:**

Duke groaned as he came too from the aesthetic. He rubbed his face with his right hand and then realised what he had done. The grey feathered mallard almost jumped out of his skin and sat up to look at his new arm. Unlike the previous one, this arm blended into his body almost perfectly. Artificial feathers covered the ionic device. What had made him jump, though was not the realisation that it didn't take all his willpower to move his right arm, but that he had felt his face with the bionic hand. He stared at the arm in wonder, clenching and unclenching the hand and moving the arm as easily as he been able to move his real arm before it had been severed. And from the moment it was fitted no less.

"From that look," Duke looked up to the doorway where he saw Kii'era in the doorway, "I'll presume you're happy with it?"

"I can feel with it!" Duke exclaimed, "I can't even do that with this thing!" He pointed to his bionic eye with his left as he continued to test out the arm.

"I'm quite proud of the design myself," She said leaning against the wall with her arms folded and a smile on her face, "And since I created the tech, my team and I have advanced it by leaps and bounds."

"This is your tech?" Duke asked and the feline nodded, "Better be careful what you tell Tanya." He laughed, "She won't let ya outta her sight till you tell her all yer secrets!"

"She has fallen asleep at my desk reading my notes." Kii'era admitted as she scratched her cheek as if embarrassed, something that didn't go unnoticed by Duke. His brow rose slightly but not enough for the intelligent woman before him to notice. "Now you're awake," Kii'era changed the subject quickly, "I will get one of the physios to work with you for a few days before I let you go back to Earth. You'll need to learn some specific exercises to ensure that your body doesn't suddenly decide to reject the arm. It happens on occasion and I haven't figured out how to predict it as yet, but there are certain exercises that can limit those occurrences."

"When can I go back ta hockey practice and inta battle?" Duke asked her still moving his fingers as if making sure all was still working.

"We will need to take that as it comes." Kii'era admitted, "If there are no signs of rejection, then a few weeks, maybe a month? It doesn't matter that the arm works, you've still suffered a traumatic and life-threatening injury. So, you need to take things one step at a time, no matter how keen you are to go back to the way you were before."

"Heh, slow and steady wins the race, huh?" Duke asked bitterly, somewhat disappointed in Kii'era's response.

"You'll be kicking tail again in no time." Kii'era winked. "I'd better get back to my lab and let Tanya know you're awake. She'll want to know as soon as she wakes up."

"Kii'era?" Duke called as the woman was leaving. She stopped in the doorway and looked over her shoulder, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She smiled.

"Easy!" Nosedive caught Angel before she could face plant into the ice whilst Mookie lazily skated around the outskirts of the rink. Thrash sat playing a handheld games console, trying to concentrate but occasionally glancing to watch as the normally graceful warrior struggled to stay upright on the skates Nosedive had bought her only a few days prior.

"It is decidedly not easy." Angel grumbled as she regained her balance with Nosedive's help. "And I fail to see what's so funny!" She snapped to Mookie who merely laughed harder.

"Chill, Angel!" Nosedive grinned and tried not to laugh at her angry pout. "You'll get the hang of it." He added kindly. Angel growled but tried again. She placed one skate in front of the other and began to move. She wobbled a few times but stayed upright this time. A small smile formed on her lips as she picked up speed. She went to turn but yelped as she didn't get the balance quite right and her skates slipped out from under her, Nosedive grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her close. Angel blushed furiously at the closeness, which only worsened as he leant down and whispered into her ear, "Relax and just go with it." She nodded and allowed herself to move with him as he skated behind her with his arms around her waist. As she got her balance again he moved in front of her whilst keeping a firm hold of her hands and skated backwards, "Look at me Angel." He said quietly, trying to get her to keep her head up instead of looking down at her skates. Something he knew was not helping in the slightest. The purple haired teen did as she was told and instantly felt her cheeks redden. When Nosedive was sure she was steady he let go and spun so he was beside her instead, "Look ahead, when you look down…"

"I ruin my balance." Angel admitted more than asked, sounding more than a little frustrated.

"Yeah." Dive chuckled.

"You think those two will ever get together?" Thrash asked Mookie as his partner skated over and leant against the barrier between where the team would sit during a game. Thrash sat on one of the chairs as he scribbled away.

"Of course!" Mookie grinned. "Dive just needs to get over himself and ask her out, cause she sure as hell won't do it." Mookie rolled her eyes before glancing over her should to make sure neither subject could hear her.

"You think?" Thrash asked, "She seems pretty forward." He pointed out, "Not that I've spent as much time with her as you."

"She acts all confident," Mookie pointed out as she looked up into the rafters, "but I'm pretty sure she wouldn't know the first thing about dating. Least of all how to ask anyone out." The woman scratched her cheek. "They're cute together though."

"I love how much he used to moan about Wing and Jess taking forever," Thrash sniggered, "and Dive's taking way longer than they ever did!" Thrash laughed out loud.

"What's so funny?" Nosedive skated over with a hand holding Angel's. Thrash and Mookie looked at each other and laughed again.

"What?!" Angel almost whined which did not help the situation at all.

"Just ignore them." Nosedive glared at them. "You're getting a little better." Dive assured Angel.

"You're just trying to make me feel better." Angel huffed, "My balance is near perfect so I didn't think this would be so hard to pick up!"

"Nobody's perfect girlie girl." Dive winked.

"I'm not used to failing at something." Angel admitted quietly.

"Okay." Mookie skated forward and draped an arm around Angel's shoulders, "One, you're not failing, you're learning!" Mookie said with one finger in the air. "And two, this is something you're learning for fun! So, who cares how good you are at it from the start?" Mookie laughed again and slapped her friend on the back.

"I suppose." Angel gave the woman a look that showed she wasn't so sure.

"So, we goin' out to that new club tonight, or what?" Thrash asked. "They're letting in minors," Thrash chose to ignore the glare Angel gave him. "Which means Angel can come with us!" He grinned.

"She's just gotta resign herself to a stamp on her hand." Mookie winked at Dive, remembering her friend complaining profusely about having to wear such stamps in the past. It had been over a year since then and they had discussed going out to celebrate Nosedive's 21st, despite being decidedly late.

"I still don't understand the fuss over such things." Angel shook her head in amusement.

"Yeah well," Thrash stood up and grinned at her, "Them's the rules chicka!" He received an annoyed look which he returned with a laugh, "So what time we meeting?"

"Game's supposed to finish around 8 so after 9 maybe?" Dive suggested.

"Good plan." Mookie then held her nose with a smirk, "Post game Dive stinks!"

"Hey!" Nosedive stuck his tongue out at his friend.

"Well she's not wrong." Angel gave him a side glance with a small smirk on her face and a twinkle in her eye.

"You guys try playing a full hockey match and not reek after!" Dive crossed his arms and pouted at them causing all three of his friends to laugh.

"At least he uses deodorant now!" Mookie quipped. Angel laughed when Nosedive went beet red. "Teen Nosedive wasn't too good at using the wonders of deodorant!" Mookie continued with an evil grin, "One year we and the team all gifted him deodorant for his birthday and he finally took the hint!" Mookie and thrashed laughed loudly at the memory and even Angel sniggered.

"I'm beginning to think you guys aren't really my friends." Dive grumbled in embarrassment.

"Oh, stop being so sensitive." Angel rolled her eyes. "I don't exactly smell pleasant after a battle either." She patted him on the shoulder with a smile.

"So," Mookie turned her attention to the purple haired Amayan, "you finally going to watch a game or are you gonna come to mine till Dive's ready for our night out?" Angel blinked. She enjoyed Mookie's company, but she was also aware that she had been promising Nosedive that she would watch him in a real game since they landed on Earth. She bit her lip as she was torn over which friend she wanted to make happy.

"You don't have to watch Angel." Nosedive said with a smile, but Angel could hear disappointment in his voice.

"No," Angel lifted up her chin in determination as she made up her mind, "I have been promising to watch one of your games since I got to this planet and an Amayan always keeps their promises!"

"We'll see ya later then." Mookie said as she left with a wave, her skates already slung over her shoulder as she exited the rink.

"Bye guys." Thrash followed after, leaving the pair alone.

"Can I get off this ice now, please?" Angel asked looking down at the skates she wore as if they were evil incarnate. Nosedive laughed and nodded before helping her to the team entrance where he got the blade protectors on and the two friends made their way to the changing rooms.

Later that night Angel sat in the stands as she watched Nosedive and the other ducks play. The crowd around her were a bit overwhelming and it was certainly not something that she was used to, but she could see why the humans were getting so excited over it all. Nosedive had taken the time to explain the game to her. She understood how it worked and it was clear that the players on the ice were very skilled. Nosedive didn't know where she was sitting, and she noted that he had been looking for her on more than one occasion. Making her unsure whether his lack of knowledge was a good or a bad thing. About a quarter way into the game Wildwing called a time out and spoke to Nosedive away from the others. The blonde gave his older brother a sheepish look before the game recommenced. This time Nosedive seemed more focussed and when the game was finally over, he had scored 8 of the 12 goals that they had scored, winning by 3. Angel had to resist the urge to cover her ears at the roar of the audience, but it was clear to anyone that she had enjoyed watching her friends play from the large grin on her face. Angel waited for the audience to disperse a little before making her way to the interview room where she knew the teams of the night would be for a while. As she got there she quietly slipped into the room and made her way to Jessica's side. Said woman held Jet in her arms as Molly sat on Wildwing's lap. He and the team answered the reporters' many questions with practiced ease.

"What did you think?" Jessica asked quietly as she kept her eyes on the ducks.

"I could watch it again." Angel admitted. "Not sure I'm built for being on the ice though!" Angel chuckled.

"You'll get better at that." Jess shrugged, "The ducks grew up learning to skate and I learned from a young age too. So, you're coming to it pretty late."

"So, Nosedive?" One reporter said very loudly, "Are you finally going to introduce us to your new sweetheart?" The room went silent as half the room watched a suddenly very flushed looking Nosedive, whilst the rest looked to Angel. Said girl merely raised an eyebrow and looked to see what her friend was going to say or do in relation to such a query.

"Um," Dive looked at Angel who shrugged, "We're not actually together." He told them, "We're just friends."

"Sure, you're not." The reporter said just as loudly causing a twitter of laughter to echo through the small room.

"Maybe we should get back to the ga..." Wildwing tried to interject.

"Miss... Angel wasn't it?" The reporter now addressed Angel directly, "Do you have feelings for Nosedive?"

"If I did," Angel said sweetly, without missing a beat, "What business would that be of yours?" The last part was added more dangerously.

"The ducks are very much loved by our town." A female reporter spoke up. "Wildwing has found himself someone, and Canard and Mallory are together." She smiled at Angel innocently, "We're just keen to see the rest of our heroes happy is all. So, you can see why we might be interested in such things." Angel raised a brow and Wildwing tensed as if wondering what the girl was about to do.

"It's very sweet that you think that way." Angel said, "But it's as Nosedive says. We're just good friends." It didn't go unnoticed that Angel had added good to her description which had some reporters scribbling down notes. "Excuse me." She said before making her way to leave. Waving off any other reporter who tried to ask more questions. Wildwing looked at Jessica with an impressed expression. Jessica returned his look with a shrug and followed after her.

"That was very well-handled Angel." Wildwing said as the ducks entered the common room 20 minutes later. "I'm impressed."

"What were you expecting me to do?" Angel asked curiously, "Attack them for being nosy?" She laughed, "I may call myself a pirate but I'm not that much of a loose cannon!" Dive sniggered and began to head towards the bunks.

"Where are you going?" Canard asked.

"Angel and I are going to meet Thrash and Mookie tonight." He shrugged before disappearing to take a shower.

"You know the press are going to have a field day if anyone sees you out tonight, right?" Mallory asked Angel.

"Let them speculate." Angel shrugged, "Idol gossip never bothered me before, why would it do so now?" With that Angel shrugged and left to change.

"She's going to regret that attitude." Mallory snorted.

"Or maybe she doesn't mind because she wouldn't say no to being with him if the kid ever got around to asking her." The ducks turned to see Duke and Tanya, accompanied by Kii'era.

"Duke!" Jessica exclaimed, "How are you feeling?"

"Like a new duck thanks to this pretty lady!" Duke grinned pointing his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the Catatonian. "And ready to start bein useful again!"

"In ti.. time Duke!" Tanya rolled her eyes.

"So, those two love birds still haven't come to their senses yet then?" Kii'era asked.

"Nosedive isn't all that experienced in dating," Wildwing told her, "He was only in junior high when the saurians hit. If he had a girlfriend before then, I didn't know about her." The white mallard added with a shrug.

"With the way he behaved around Lucretia," Mallory gave a snort, "I'm surprised he hasn't asked her yet."

"Not to mention all the hassle he gave you about dating Jess." Canard rolled his eyes.

"The kid doesn't think he's good enough for her." Duke shrugged, "Told me a while back about it when I pressed him about his feelings for her."

"What do you mean?" Jessica asked shushing Jet who was starting to fuss a little.

"He said something about her maybe being a princess." Duke watched his teammates carefully to garner their response.

"What is this? A fairy tale?" Mallory laughed.

"The Azmarian royal family were reported to be slaughtered during the betrayal and Plutarkian attack." Kii'era told them, "in the chaos many bodies were never recovered from the planet." She continued, "Something I'm sure Nosedive noticed when he visited what was left of it. But the Plutarkians made sure to show the bodies of the emperor and his children to the fleeing Amayans and broadcast this across the galaxy as a message. I've watched the footage and its harrowing. But the Empress was not present. Only the emperor and most of his children."

"So, it's possible some of their children could have survived?" Wildwing asked.

"And the empress," Kii'era nodded, "Yes. But it is widely believed that she perished, and Angel is too young to have been alive when the planet was attacked."

"But what if the empress was pregnant at the time?" Jessica asked.

"If that was the case," Canard said sounding disturbed, "then that kid was born a slave."

"Wasn't that obvious from that nightmare we got to witness?" Duke shook his head.

"If the empress Hisanna was pregnant," Kii'era mused, "depending on how far she was gone, then it is entirely possible that Angel is Hisanna's daughter. Which would make her the heir to the Amayan throne. Assuming none of her other siblings survived of course. She would have been one of many."

"Do you think she knows who she is?" Grin asked.

"If she does, she's never mentioned it to me." Kii'era shrugged.

"Her mother certainly lived long enough for Angel to remember her, if that mess with Akane is anything to go by." Wildwing took his son so that Jessica could go and get him a bottle. He bounced his son gently as the infant began grizzling.

"And I would be very surprised if she hasn't seen pictures of the Empress Hissanna at some point since escaping Ikaru's father." Kii'era added.

"Well there's not much we can do about it now." Canard stood and stretched out his shoulders, "We can figure this out another time, with the kid here."

"Why Canard," Jessica said as she returned and gave the bottle to Wildwing who happily began feeding his son, "That's very sensitive of you."

"I wouldn't want to have people discussing me when I'm not around, so why would she?" He shrugged and left the room.

"I think I need to see if he's okay." Mallory sniggered as she followed after him. It wasn't long before the rest of the team dispersed to do their own thing leaving Wildwing and Jessica to tend to their new arrival.

"What is this place?" Angel asked as Mookie led her through the door to a building with a bright flashing sign with microphones on it. Nosedive and Thrash were following close behind.

"Karaoke!" Mookie squealed with the biggest grin she could muster.

"The singing thing?" Angel asked to clarify.

"The very same." Nosedive shrugged. "Room for four please." The blonde said as he stepped past the girls to the counter. The Hispanic woman serving gaped at him for a few moments before stuttering a quick apology, creating a tab with his card and leading them to a room.

"Any drinks?" She asked nervously.

"What do you guys want?" Dive turned to his friends as they sat down. "On me."

"Well in that case!" Mookie smirked, "Strawberry Daquiri!"

"Beer." Thrash said before turning to Angel, "No alcohol for you though, young lady!" He said in the best impression of a dad he could muster. This resulted in the purple haired warrior rolling her eyes at the red headed human.

"Just get me something refreshing please." She indicated to Nosedive.

"Got any nice smoothies or anything?" Dive turned back to the woman serving them.

"Sure!" She said a little too loudly before clearing her throat in embarrassment and carrying on in a more sedate tone, "We have a mock tail version of what the lady ordered. Would the young lady like to try that?" Dive turned and Angel shrugged.

"Why not." He said, "I'll have the same." The woman made a note and hurried off.

"Didn't want to have something stronger?" Angel asked as he took a seat beside her. "I though tit was customary on this planet to get completely plastered when celebrating your 21st."

"Not really and yeah but doesn't mean ya have to." Dive said evasively. "So, who's going first?"

"Me!" Mookie shouted as she almost jumped on the computer to select her song choice. Thrash and Nosedive were quite used to this and simply shook their heads. Angel chuckled at the human's excitement but watched as her friend set up the machine and pick up a mic. Mookie had chosen a Queen song and spent the next three minutes singing along to Bohemian Rhapsody, the boys joining in on the chorus and laughing the whole way through. By the time she was finished the Hispanic woman had returned and placed the drinks on the table.

"Sorry," she said to Nosedive and held out her note pad to him, "I really am, but I'm such a big fan and..." She went beet red and couldn't finish the sentence.

"Want an autograph?" He guessed what she wanted, and the woman nodded profusely with a smile. "Sure thing!" He took the pad and pen and quickly scribbled a note for her and added his signature before passing the pad back to her. "Selfie too?" He winked at her. She squeaked and nodded before taking out her phone. Her hands were shaking from excitement, so Mookie held out her hand to take it, which allowed the woman to wrap her arms around Nosedive's waist. She had a big goofy grin on her face as Nosedive rested his arm around her shoulders. Once the picture was taken, the woman took the phone and stared at the picture, her smile somehow getting bigger.

"Thank you so much!" She held the pad and the phone to her chest, "I'm Esmie, by the way. Just let me know if you and your friends want anything else!"

"Thanks Esmie." Nosedive smiled kindly to her as the woman stepped out of the room. When the door closed, they heard her squeal like a child in excitement and he was pretty sure it sounded like she was already on the phone to someone telling them what had happened. "Something tells me we might have to use a side entrance to get out of this place." He laughed.

"You love it!" Thrash elbowed the duck with a laugh.

"Don't even joke man!" Nosedive shuddered, "I still get the occasional letter from Buffy.!"

"No way?!" Mookie turned away from the screen where she was helping Angel find one of the few songs that the girl knew. "I thought that psycho got locked up!"

"She did." Nosedive shrugged, "She got locked up in a mental hospital. She's still sending me old school mail though."

"Shouldn't you be telling someone about that?" Mookie asked him in a tone that made Angel frown.

"She's in a mental hospital," Dive rolled his eyes, "What's she going to do from there? Besides, I'm not a kid anymore" He added at the looks Thrash and Mookie gave him.

"Do I want to know?" Angel asked.

"No." Nosedive said with finality.

"Remind me later and I'll fill ya in." Mookie whispered when Dive looked away. Angel nodded. "Now!" Mookie said loudly, let's find Angel a song she can sing!"

"I know that one." Angel said.

"A Disney song?" Thrash grimaced.

"She's been watching movies with Molly." Nosedive explained.

"They're nice songs to sing!" Angel said defensively.

"Yeah," Mookie stood up for her friend, "Plus there aren't any anime intros on here." She added with a sideways glance and a grin on her face making Angel blush slightly.

"You're acting like my liking them is a bad thing." Angel almost whined. Nosedive looked at her in shock, then smiled.

"Sing whatever you want Angel." He said kindly.

"Yeah, we're just teasin' ya!" Thrash added looking suitably embarrassed that he had clearly upset his new friend.

"Whatever." Angel turned and accepted the mic as Mookie programmed the song in. As the music began playing Angel had a sudden hit of nerves. It was one thing to sing as she cooked or in her ship when she thought no one was listening. But now, people were most definitely listening to her and she missed the start of the song despite the words and prompts. Mookie stopped the song and looked at her friend.

"You okay?" Mookie asked.

"Of course!" Angel said loudly before clearing her throat, "Sorry, maybe you could play it again?" Mookie nodded and started without saying anything. The music started and this time Angel did start to sing but they could barely hear her. Nosedive knew that Angel had a pretty voice. He'd caught her singing numerous times when they lived with her on her ship, but now she seemed nervous. When Angel finished the song her three friends cheered her enthusiastically causing the teen to blush a deep red. The others each had several goes after that, but Angel declined to sing again feigning a sore throat. Her friends knew better but they didn't push the subject. By the time they had finished and snuck out the side door to avoid the crowd that had gathered in the foyer of the bar, Angel was the only one sober. She wasn't sure when Thrash and Mookie had persuaded him to change his mind about drinking, but she was finding a drunk Nosedive very amusing. She didn't know the blonde could talk any more than he already did, but somehow, he managed it.

"Here it is!" Mookie declared as she almost hung of Thrash and Nosedive's elbows.

"Warning you now Angel," Thrash slurred, "Dive cannot dance, at all!"

"That's a lie!" Dive exclaimed. "I'll have you know I am an awesome dancer!"

"On the ice maybe," Mookie grinned, "But on the dance floor?" Mookie sniggered as she gave Angel a side glance. Angel smirked as she looked at her blonde friend.

"To be fair," Angel allowed Nosedive to cringe before continuing, "I don't dance anyway." With that said she grabbed Mookie's arm and pulled her fellow purple haired friend with her into the depths of the club and to a table at the side, where they could view the dance floor. Before long Thrash and Nosedive joined them with a selection of drinks. Angel looked less than impressed that she was still being forced to be teetotal, but she had no intention of bringing it up, given her friends would begin teasing her again.

"Dance with us!" Nosedive shook Angel harder than he meant to and she nearly spilled her drink.

"I already said I don't dance," Angel glared at him, "didn't I?"

"And my so-called best friends have already told you I can't dance!" Nosedive shot the pair a glare only to find them already on the dance floor. He shook his head but turned back to Angel with a pout, "Come on! Please!" Angel laughed at the look, but she allowed him to pull her to her feet. As they reached their friends, Nosedive began dancing as Angel just watched him. She had seen worse dancers, but he was certainly not like any of the dancers she had seen in the old music videos Mookie had shown her. "You're not dancing!" Nosedive complained after several minutes.

"I told you…"

"You don't dance!" Nosedive rolled his eyes. "Well it's time you start!" He leant forward so his beak was as close as he could get to her face as possible without actually touching it. Angel could smell the alcohol he had been drinking and instantly wished she had been able to drink some herself, if for nothing more than courage. Given a sword and an enemy and she had all the confidence in the world. The same could be said in smaller company. But now she was in a large crowd of people, in a cramped club with the loud music adding to the dampening of her senses. She knew if someone, or something were to attack, she would struggle to sense such an attack coming. "Coward!"

"Excuse me?" Angel glared at him, finding his state less amusing by the minute.

"You're too chicken to dance!" Dive laughed and danced harder than before, which Mookie and Thrash began laughing at. It was then that Nosedive had an idea. "Okay Angel, don't dance!" He grinned, "Let's spar!" Angel blinked as Nosedive performed a spinning kick. She easily dodged it and stood to the side. The blonde then got into a fighting stance. "You dance all the time, just not on a dance floor!" He yelled, "So let's show these losers how awesome you are." Angel laughed at that and with a shake of the head indulged him by getting into a fighting stance herself. By this time the crowd had pulled away from the pair to watch what was going on, yet the music still blared. The DJ herself watched from her spot above the crowd trying to figure out if she needed to call security or if this was some harmless fun between the patrons.

Angel waited for Nosedive to make the first move and danced around him as if to her own beat. She lost concentration for only a moment when the music suddenly changed to a different track that was matching the beat of their movements. Glancing behind her she saw a grinning woman with bright pink hair styled into dreadlocks, waving at her. Angel felt a presence behind her and dodged away but there was something different about Nosedive. Normally he would think too much and become tense when sparring with her. He had improved of course, but he was pulling off the more advanced moves they had been working on with ease and she was having to keep on her toes because he was almost connecting with her. He wasn't even telegraphing anymore. Her mind began to wonder about why this could be and just as she concluded that the alcohol had perhaps freed him of his insecurities, she felt her feet swept from under her and a body suddenly pinning her. She looked up into the blue eyes of the duck who had just floored her in shock. Angel smirked as she reached up to cup his face, all the while manoeuvring her leg just right. She pulled him towards her and kissed his beak before wrenching her leg to flip him whilst he was taken off guard. By the time she was through, he had his back on the floor and was staring up at her in shock. Angel got to her feet, held out her hand to Nosedive and helped him up.

"Nice work," Angel leant forward to talk into his ear, "But don't let your opponent distract you." She smirked then went back to where they had been sitting before. Nosedive stared at the point Angel had been standing before, oblivious to the people beginning to dance around him again. He turned to look over his shoulder at Angel who was now sipping at her beverage whilst watching him carefully. He went to go over to her to tell her she probably ought to order a new drink, but there was a loud bang and he was thrown across the room before all went dark.


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41:**

 **Wow, so the world has officially imploded, and I hope you are all safe. This was written weeks ago but I have only now had the chance to proof it, adjust it and feel happy with it. Part of the reason it often takes me so long to upload is because I know where this story is supposed to end up, but I often change my mind on how to get there. So much so that I have previously deleted 15 chapters and re-written them all again. And that was before I even posted the first chapter!**

 **There is a warning for a character death in this chapter. So please read with caution.**

"What's the verdict?" Wildwing asked Tanya and Alex as he sat with Jessica at his side. Jessica held their baby close, rocking him slightly. Wildwing had one hand on the small of Jessica's back as he watched his team tech and Alex look at each other with sad looks. It was late, but Jessica had insisted something seemed wrong with their baby and had woken her brother up. When he had taken a look, he had asked Tanya to come and check him over as well, for a second opinion.

"Well, you were right when you thought he wasn't focussing on anything." Alex sighed. "Jet's eyes haven't developed properly." Alex said in a very careful manner. "He doesn't look like he's focussing because he isn't."

"He's blind?!" Jessica's looked from her brother, to Tanya then to Wildwing.

"I've asked Kii'era whether she or one of the GA medics can come take a look at him too." Alex said, "It was Tanya's suggestion."

"J..Just in case th.. They can help him" Tanya supplied.

"Did Kii'era mention that they could cure blindness?" Wildwing said in an odd tone that made Tanya flinch.

"N..No but..." Tanya started but a Drake one Alert sounded and seconds later the door to the infirmary opening interrupted her, as Canard burst in.

"There's been an explosion downtown." Canard said urgently.

"Can't you handle it?" Wildwing said almost angrily as he gripped Jessica tightly to him, as his free hand covered the bare side of Jet's head to ensure that the noise was muffled for him.

"Wing," Canard bit the bottom of his beak, something Wildwing hadn't seen his friend do since they were kids, "Nosedive's comm signal is coming from the same building and he's not answering." This got Wildwing's attention. The white mallard looked at Jessica with a torn look.

"Go!" Jessica urged, "Jet's going to need his uncle." She added with a sad smile. "Just come back safe!" She called after the two mallards as they rushed away towards the hangar. Jessica held her son close and got up to take him to her room to find Molly.

"Is Jet okay mom?" Molly asked looking up from the comic Mookie had given her recently.

"Sweety," Jessica took a deep breath before carrying on, "your little brother is okay, but he can't…" She frowned when her comm went off. She considered ignoring it but given the situation with Nosedive she thought better of it. Her frown deepened when she saw it was Wildwing. "Wildwi…" But she couldn't even finish his name.

"Get everyone out of the pond" Wildwing bellowed down the line at her, "It's an all-out invasion and they are heading straight for the pond! We're trying to hold them off in the aerowing, but you and the others need to take the migrator and run!" Jessica paled and looked at her daughter who looked terrified. "Jess!"

"We're going!" Jessica said keeping the line open but grabbing her daughter with her spare hand and pulling her towards the hanger, "What about you?!"

"Don't worry about us!" Wildwing grunted as a sound of laser fire could be heard, "Just get to safety! We'll find you later when we've found the others and helped the city!" With that the line went dead and Jessica proceeded to make sure everyone else was on their way to the hanger.

Nosedive groaned as he came too. As his vision cleared, he could see several humans on the ground scattered around him. He panicked when he couldn't see any of his friends, or whoever had blown a sizable hole in the wall of the club. He got to his feet and made his way towards where he had last seen Thrash and Mookie. His head spun as he moved. He noticed movement to his right, towards the hole in the wall where he could have sworn, he had seen something rush past. His concussed mind needed to know if his friends were okay.

"Thrash?" He called, "Mookie?" He added a little louder, then coughing from the smoke and dust. "Angel?!" Each call louder than the last.

"Nosedive!" Mookie called from the corner of the room. Nosedive made his way towards her and found her hiding under the table where he had last seen Angel. In her arms was a very pale and very bloody Thrash. "I don't think he's breathing!" Mookie wailed as she held her partner close and rocked him. Dive dropped to his knees and reached out with a trembling hand to feel for a pulse, the rise and fall of his friend's chest, anything to give him the slightest clue that Thrash was alive. But there was nothing. His heart clenched as memories of similar scenes from his teenage years flashed through his mind and he let out a cry of anguish. It was then he noticed the laser fire outside.

"Mookie," he looked up at her, "Mookie we have to go!" He looked down at his comm unit to find it had power, but when he went to open it, it was jammed. He tried to activate his quick change and that failed as well. "Shit!"

"We can't leave him!" Mookie cried as she held onto Thrash more tightly.

"We have to!" Dive insisted. "Whoever did this, is still out there!" He looked over his shoulder, "It sounds like there's a firefight going on. I can't quick change right now and I can't call the others." He stopped then looked around the room again searching for Angel. "Where's..."

"She helped me drag Thrash under the table and told me to stay hidden." Mookie sniffled, "Then she went to find you, but I think whoever did this stopped her from finding you. Cause I heard her battle cry and the next thing I knew; she was following someone through the hole in the wall!"

"Drake one should have picked up the emergency calls," Nosedive said more to himself than to Mookie whom he was helping to her feet whilst also trying to encourage her to let Thrash go, "which means the others will be here soon and Angel should be able to hold her own till then." Dive glanced to the outside once again hearing a small explosion somewhere in the distance, the scream of a few humans echoing in the distance.

"Angel!" Mookie squeaked, "We need to help her!" She declared as she finally got to her feet, but Nosedive grabbed her arm.

"No!" he snapped, "I'm gonna get you out of here, then I'll go back up Angel." He stood and began dragging Mookie towards a door in the opposite direction to the damage in the building. "We're not armed, and Angel was obviously able to change, so can take care of herself right now."

"But…" Mookie glanced back at her deceased partner and shuddered, "I don't want to lose anyone else! I wanna help!" She pleaded.

"I don't wanna lose anyone either Mookie, I…" Nosedive stopped mid-sentence before he looked up in shock. Above him, littering the sky like a swarm of locusts, were saurian ships. Hundreds of them. He could see Plutarkian ships and other types he didn't recognise as well. "Run." Dive said backing away from the scene and reaching for Mookie's hand. He pulled her in the direction of the pond, and they began running.

Angel weaved and slashed at her enemies. Enforcer drones, Plutarkians and even saurians were appearing in the streets as she fought to help the humans fleeing the area do so without being harmed. But given the sheer numbers of her adversaries, she was struggling. It didn't help that her mind was distracted with where Nosedive had been after the smoke had cleared. She had found Mookie with an injured Thrash, but she hadn't been able to locate Nosedive before enemy forces began swarming into the damaged building. So instead she had opted to hold them off in hopes her blonde friend would find Mookie and Trash where she had left them and get them to safety. She grunted as she dodged to avoid the crushing blow of an enforcers foot. With a jump, an elegant flip and a flash of her blades, the enforcer dropped to the ground in a sparking heap. It was then she spotted a familiar red-haired human in trouble. She sped to the police captain and dealt with the drones surrounding him and his officers quickly.

"You need to get out of here!" She declared slicing any laser fire out of the air before they could connect with her or those round her.

"We need to protect the people of this city!" Cleghorn bellowed back. Angel frowned at him.

"Sir, I got news that there's about four hundred civilians been herded into the school grounds nearby!" An officer reported yelping as he nearly got hit by a stray laser beam, but it was sliced out of the air just in time. "Thank you miss." Angel nodded and continued to help defend the law enforcement.

"We got any update about help?" Cleghorn asked the same officer. Angel glanced at her own wrist computer and chanced a glance back at the captain.

"There is a small force of GA ships heading here. They weren't ready for a full invasion yet though so it may just be damage control for now." Angel told him.

"Excuse me if that's not very comforting kid!" Cleghorn rolled his eyes.

"Which direction is the school?" Angel asked the officer who had told them about the civilians.

"Three blocks that way." He pointed to her right.

"I would suggest you people make your own way to safety." She advised, "Rescue anyone you can on the way, but take cover somewhere."

"And what are you going to do?!" Cleghorn called after the teen who was already dashing in the direction of the school.

"What I do best!" Angel bellowed back. As she sprinted away from the police she heard her comm sound. She could see two incoming calls. She chose the option to join all three.

"Where are you Angel?" Wildwing asked urgently, "And where's my brother?"

"We got separated." Angel said, the guilt obvious in her voice, "And I am heading to a school close to my position. Apparently they're herding people there. I'm hoping to do something about it."

"You're one person!" Mallory snapped over the line, "What could you possibly do?!"

"More that you would think." Kii'era said darkly over the second line. "Angel, I have spread our forces thin, but I have operatives placing a little invention Tanya and I have been working on. We were hoping to fully test it before using them, but beggars can't be choosers. The minute they're up and running, they'll create a force field around the city and any other locations on our priority list. No more forces will be able to get in or out. In theory at least. That should include teleportation. My forces are going to hold back as much of the enemy air support as we can. Think you can hold on till we can activate the shields?"

"Not like we have a choice is it?" Angel said more quietly as she slipped into stealth mode and began scaling one of the school buildings to get a better view of the situation. "Just hurry up and get on with it before too many people get hurt or worse." She paused then added, "Wildwing, you and the ducks should concentrate on finding Nosedive, Thrash and Mookie. It looked like we were being specifically targeted, and Thrash was pretty badly hurt when I had to lead the enemy away. I wasn't able to find Nosedive before that.. I… I don't know if he's even okay!"

"We'll find him." Mallory assured placing a calming hand on a now even more tense looking Wildwing's shoulder.

"Kii'era." Wildwing called, "Jessica, my family. I told them to take the migrator and make a run for it, I.."

"I'll send a team to get them." The feline assured. "Kii'era out."

"I'm going silent too." Angel told them, "I can't risk being seen right now or it will limit what I can do."

"Be careful Angel." Wildwing sighed as he reached to disconnect. He hesitated but pressed the button and began typing commands into the computer. "His comm isn't working but the tracker is." Wildwing visibly sighed in relief.

"And it looks like he's on the move!" Mallory pointed at the moving dot that showed Nosedive.

"Let us hope that it is of his own doing." Grin said solemnly.

"Let's go." Canard squeezed his best friend's forearm in encouragement.

"That everything?" Alex asked as he helped his wife and child onto the migrator and waited for Duke to arrive with Tanya.

"It's gonna have ta be." Duke said flinching as an explosion rocked the facility. "We wait any longer we're either dead or bait!" He placed an arm around an almost hyperventilating Tanya who gratefully leaned into his comforting presence. Another loud explosion caused some of the ceiling in the hanger to buckle. "Yo bike!" Duke called to Nosedive's ride. "You're gonna wanna come with us or follow us!" The machine roared to life and circled the migrator at high speed, guns out and ready.

"Looks like we have an escort." Jessica shushed a crying Jet and held Molly closer, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. "But where do we go?"

"Jess is right!" Mary exclaimed, "If the whole planet is under attack where can we even go?"

"We'll figure that out later." Alex declared. "Right now, we just need to get out of here!" He nodded to Duke as the mallard sat in the co driver's seat. The pair got the engine running just in time. The hangar doors blew open and the room began filling with hunter drones and Plutarkians. Alex hit the accelerator and they were speeding through the tunnel to the hidden exit. Nosedive's bike waited behind to take out a few drones before speeding after them. As they flew through the exit Alex slammed on the brakes and they all stared at the scene in horror. Behind them Anaheim looked like something out of a sci fi movie. There were airships and fighter jets in the air in the middle of a firefight, screams could be heard from the city and there was a small force before them that had clearly been lying in wait for their escape attempt. "Shit." Alex cursed. Trying to get the large vehicle to manoeuvre but stalling it. Just as he got it going again his sister pulled him out of the driver's seat and took his place. "What..?"

"You're too careful a driver. Keep any eye on my kids and leave the driving to an expert." She scowled at the enemy ahead of them before Jessica made a snap decision. She slammed on the accelerator and literally ploughed through them. She was aware of the bike that was trying to keep the enemy now following off their tails, but she paid it as little mind as possible as she pushed the vehicle to reach its top speed. She knew this wouldn't be like driving her racing cars, but she also knew she couldn't allow themselves to be caught. If they were, she knew they would be used as bait, and ultimately killed. She wasn't about to allow either without a fight. She almost chuckled to herself as she realised how much her fiancé and the ducks had rubbed off on her.

"Look out!" Duke bellowed as a large battle cruiser lowered before them.

"Orion to Migrator, come in!" A voice called to them, "I'm opening the hatch at the rear of my ship, get in here before you get blown away!"

"Kimmie?!" Molly asked with relief and excitement in her voice.

"That's me!" Kimmie replied, "Just hurry!"

"On it!" Jessica replied, "But the breaking distance might be an issue."

"I've factored for that," Kim replied, "just trust me!"

"Okay." Jessica narrowed her eyes and levelled the vehicle with the cruiser's now lowered cargo ramp. She felt the front tires hit the ramp and kept the acceleration on until she felt all of the wheels touch said ramp. Then she took her foot off the accelerator till they were clear of the ramp, "Brace yourselves!" She yelled and slammed on the brakes. Duke pushed a few buttons and some reverse jets opened up to help the brakes. Just as they were getting too close to the end of the ship's hanger, the vehicle was surrounded in a purple glow and they were stopped before they could hit the wall. The sudden stop was a jolt but had been reduced from both Jessica and Duke's actions, so all were safe. Jessica watched as Dive's blue bike also entered the hanger and skidded to halt with no assistance.

"Jess!" the ducks saw Charlie Davidson rushing over as they left the vehicle. Said red head embraced Jessica carefully around Jet, who was once again back in Jessica's arms. Then she gave Molly a big hug.

"When Kii'era told us you guys were on the run we came as soon as we could. Are you all okay?" She asked as she picked up Molly and held her close.

"We're fine," Duke cut in, "But our friends.."

"We're working on that." Maisie Van Wham said as she joined them. "My brother and a small force of mice are currently defending Chicago. We've already set up a base at your parents." She looked at Jessica. There was a jolt and Maisie looked up. "We'll have to explain more later." She looked at Charlie, "Can you show them to somewhere more comfortable for now?"

"Sure thing." Charlie nodded. Maisie jogged off to help her partner and Charlie turned to the others, "This way." She smiled, although it was strained. She showed them to a common room much like a sitting room and waited for everyone to take a seat, "Does anyone need anything?" She asked glancing at Tanya worriedly, "Wounds treating, water, food?" There were a chorus of murmurs confirming no one needed anything and Charlie nodded before sitting next to Tanya who was still struggling to control her breathing. "Nothing is going to take us on this ship Tanya." She rubbed the woman's back. Tanya whimpered and pulled her knees up to her chest. She did manage to nod to Charlie though.

"Why is there a base of operations at my parents' house?" Jessica asked.

"I've been wondering that too, actually." Alex added. The twins looked to their old friend to explain.

"Well, your parents suggested it." Charlie shrugged, "When we came back I found the garage all fixed up with all new gear and someone being paid to work there until I got back. So, I went to see your parents about it."

"But mom and dad don't have that kind of money!" Alex made a face.

"That's what I thought but the guy working there said it was your dad who interviewed and hired him." Charlie shrugged, "So I went to thank Reuben. When I got there, he filled me in that he and Lizzie had arranged what they could but someone else had paid for the main repairs and the mechanic's wages."

"Who would..?" Mary pipped up. Charlie turned to Jessica with a smile.

"I owe your fiancé a massive thank you." She winked.

"Wildwing did that?" Jessica asked surprised. "He never mentioned anything about it!"

"I'm not supposed to know but you know how I can be about getting to the bottom of things and Reuben eventually admitted it to me on the proviso that I didn't let Wildwing know that I knew." Charlie's smile grew, "You got yourself a keeper Fury." She added with a wink. "And just look at this cutie pie!" Charlie cooed at Jet, tickling him under the chin earning a gurgle from the infant.

"Yeah," Jessica smiled in a dreamlike manner, "He's really something." This earned a few smiles from the other occupants of the room. Jessica shook her head, "Have you heard from him? Or any of the others?" Charlie bit her lip and looked to the side.

"Not since Kii'era spoke to them about a half hour ago." Charlie admitted.

Nosedive peered around the corner of a building to make sure they were alone before pulling Mookie to run with him. They had been heading to the pond. But the closer they got, the more enemy forces there were. So, they had abandoned that idea and began running in the opposite direction. He had already taken out a few Plutarkian soldiers and stolen some blasters, but he was struggling to keep his head in the right place. The part of him that had already lived through a world invasion, but he had been with his brother last time. While he was grown now, and more than capable of taking care of himself, he still felt every bit as scared and vulnerable as he had as a kid. At the sound of jet engines, he pulled Mookie towards a partially collapsed building and the pair huddled beneath a partially fallen wall, guns at the ready.

"What are we going to do?!" Mookie squeaked, "I don't wanna die!"

"You won't." Nosedive declared as he griped the rifle he held tighter.

"Nosedive?!" Wildwing called from somewhere to their right.

"Wil…" Nosedive shushed Mookie before she could give away their position.

"It might be the Chameleon!" Dive hissed.

"Dive! Where are you!" Wildwing called again.

"How do I know it's you?" Dive called.

"When you were five, you packed up your bags and declared you were leaving cause mom and dad said you couldn't watch the movie dad was watching." Wildwing called out.

"What was the movie?" Dive knew it was him but just wanted to hear his brother's voice one more time to be sure.

"Dive, it was nearly 20 years ago, I…" Wildwing paused, "I think it was tales of the deep!" Dive chuckled in relief and stood up, pulling Mookie to her feet with him.

"Hey bro." Nosedive put on his best face but Wildwing saw straight through it.

"We're together now baby bro." Wildwing pulled Nosedive into a bear hug and felt the younger grip onto him as if their lives depended on it.

"Thrash, he's…" Nosedive couldn't finish. Wildwing held on tighter and looked to Mookie who was looking away almost in tears again. Wildwing held out an arm to the woman who immediately accepted the gesture and joined the hug.

"Let's get you two out of here." Wildwing said quietly.

"But Angel!" Nosedive objected as his brother began leading him to the aerowing and the rest of their team.

"She's okay." Wildwing only half lied, "We'll meet up with her a little later."

"Wing move!" Canard yelled. Wildwing didn't even have time to figure out what was going on when a laser blast hit him straight in the chest.

"Wildwing!" Nosedive yelled. If it weren't for his armour he would have been killed instantly. Thankfully he was just winded. The white mallard rose to his feet and saw Nosedive running to him. It was as if everything was happening in slow motion as a white-haired figure was suddenly between the brothers and his little brother fell to the ground. Wing hadn't even seen what his brother had been hit with. All he knew was he couldn't see any blood, but his brother lay far too still. Wildwing snarled and charged Ikaru but the swordsman merely turned his head and smirked before grabbing Dive's wrist and activating a wrist teleporter.

"Nosedive!" Wildwing and Mookie screamed in unison.


End file.
